MECHANISMS OF STAGE-REGULATED GENE-EXPRESSION IN KINETOPLASTIDA

During their life cycle, trypanosomatid parasites of mammals encounter substantially different environments in their hosts and insect vectors, to which they must adapt by undergoing a series of differentiation processes. At the molecular level, these procesess must be the direct result of an elaborate series of changes in stage-regulated expression of a wide range of gene products. How are these changes accomplished? In this review Sheila Graham discusses same recent advances in understanding the mechanisms of gene expression in trypanosomatids, and examines some dues to some intriguingly complex means of regulating life cycle stage-specific gene expression.