Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite

Epigenetic machinery has emerged as a central player in gene regulation and chromatin organization in Plasmodium spp. Epigenetic modifications on histones and their role in antigenic variation in P. falciparum are widely studied. Recent discoveries on nucleic acid methylome are exciting and provide...

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Main Authors: Gayathri Govindaraju, Arumugam Rajavelu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Biomedical Journal
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417024000064
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author Gayathri Govindaraju
Arumugam Rajavelu
author_facet Gayathri Govindaraju
Arumugam Rajavelu
author_sort Gayathri Govindaraju
collection DOAJ
description Epigenetic machinery has emerged as a central player in gene regulation and chromatin organization in Plasmodium spp. Epigenetic modifications on histones and their role in antigenic variation in P. falciparum are widely studied. Recent discoveries on nucleic acid methylome are exciting and provide a new dimension to the apicomplexan protozoan parasite's gene regulatory process. Reports have confirmed that N6-methyl adenosine (m6A) methylation plays a crucial role in the translational plasticity of the human malaria parasite during its development in RBC. The YTH domain (YT521-B Homology) protein in P. falciparum binds to m6A epitranscriptome modifications on the mRNA and regulates protein translation. The binding of the PfYTH domain protein to the m6A-modified mRNA is mediated through a binding pocket formed by aromatic amino acids. The P. falciparum genome encodes two members of YTH domain proteins, i.e., YTH1 and YTH2, and both have distinct roles in dictating the epitranscriptome in human malaria parasites. This review highlights recent advancements in the functions and mechanisms of YTH domain protein's role in translational plasticity in the various developmental stages of the parasite.
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spelling doaj-art-98a462fffd9e4ff6b656c959144435712025-08-20T03:10:25ZengElsevierBiomedical Journal2319-41702025-04-0148210070310.1016/j.bj.2024.100703Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasiteGayathri Govindaraju0Arumugam Rajavelu1Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, IndiaDepartment of Biotechnology, Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India; Corresponding author. Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute Of Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600036, India.Epigenetic machinery has emerged as a central player in gene regulation and chromatin organization in Plasmodium spp. Epigenetic modifications on histones and their role in antigenic variation in P. falciparum are widely studied. Recent discoveries on nucleic acid methylome are exciting and provide a new dimension to the apicomplexan protozoan parasite's gene regulatory process. Reports have confirmed that N6-methyl adenosine (m6A) methylation plays a crucial role in the translational plasticity of the human malaria parasite during its development in RBC. The YTH domain (YT521-B Homology) protein in P. falciparum binds to m6A epitranscriptome modifications on the mRNA and regulates protein translation. The binding of the PfYTH domain protein to the m6A-modified mRNA is mediated through a binding pocket formed by aromatic amino acids. The P. falciparum genome encodes two members of YTH domain proteins, i.e., YTH1 and YTH2, and both have distinct roles in dictating the epitranscriptome in human malaria parasites. This review highlights recent advancements in the functions and mechanisms of YTH domain protein's role in translational plasticity in the various developmental stages of the parasite.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417024000064EpitranscriptomeRNA methylationYTH domain proteinMalariaPlasmodium
spellingShingle Gayathri Govindaraju
Arumugam Rajavelu
Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
Biomedical Journal
Epitranscriptome
RNA methylation
YTH domain protein
Malaria
Plasmodium
title Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
title_full Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
title_fullStr Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
title_full_unstemmed Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
title_short Reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
title_sort reading the epitranscriptome of the human malaria parasite
topic Epitranscriptome
RNA methylation
YTH domain protein
Malaria
Plasmodium
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2319417024000064
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