Identification of a necessary element for SAG1 gene expression

Exp Parasitol. 2007 Jan 25; [Epub ahead of print]

Identification of a necessary element for Toxoplasma gondii SAG1 gene expression

Zhang J, Gu Q, Hou X, Zhou H, Cong H, Li Y, Zhao Q, Li S.

Department of Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, PR China.

SAG1 codes for the stage-specific major surface antigen P30 of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) tachyzoites. Six tandemly repeated, conserved 27bp cassettes in the region from -231 to -70bp were previously confirmed to be essential for high-level expression of SAG1 and serve as a positioning element directing the initiation of transcription. We demonstrate here that an element located between +19 and +28bp is necessary for SAG1 gene expression by using deletion mutagenesis analysis and electrophoresis mobility shift assay (EMSA). This will provide an insight into the regulatory mechanisms of SAG1 gene expression.

PMID: 17258203 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]