The ATR kinase of Trypanosoma brucei links DNA damage signalling and monoallelic control of surface antigen gene expression during antigenic variation

摘要: Abstract To evade mammalian immunity, Trypanosoma brucei switches the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) expressed on its surface. Key to this reaction are controls exerted ensure only one of many subtelomeric multigene VSG expression sites transcribed at a time. DNA repair activities have date been implicated in catalysis switching by recombination, not transcriptional control. However, how is signalled guide appropriate reaction, or integrate into parasite growth, unknown. Here we show that loss ATR, damage signalling protein kinase, lethal and causes increased nuclear genome lesions. ATR depletion also mixed VSGs cell surface, transcription genes from silent sites, altered localisation RNA Polymerase I VEX1, factors involved transcription. The work therefore reveals control mediated factor.