Abstract
Some of the genes for the variant surface glycoproteins of trypanosomes are located close to a discontinuity in the DNA, presumably a chromosome end. We show here that DNA fragments containing these telomeres increase in length in multiplying trypanosomes at a rate of about 10 base pairs per division. We argue that chromosome growth may not be restricted to trypanosomes and could explain the heterogeneity of telomeric DNA fragments observed in some other organisms.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
McClintock, B. Genetics 26, 234–282 (1941).
Orr-Weaver, T. L., Szostak, J. W. & Rothstein, R. J. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 6354–6358 (1981).
Blackburn, E. M. & Gall, J. G. J. molec. Biol. 120, 33–53 (1978).
Szostak, K. W. & Blackburn, E. H. Cell 39, 245–255 (1982).
Blackburn, E. H. et al. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 46, (in the press).
Herrick, G. & Wesley, R. D. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 75, 2626–2630 (1978).
Klobutcher, L. A., Swanton, M. T., Donini, P. & Prescott, D. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 3015–3019 (1982).
Boswell, R. E., Klobutcher, L. A. & Prescott, D. M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79, 3255–3259 (1982).
Yao, M.-C. & Yao, C.-H. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 7436–7439 (1981).
Baroudy, B. M., Venkatesan, S. & Moss, B. Cell 28, 315–324 (1982).
Bedbrook, J. R., Jones, J., O'Dell, M., Thompson, R. D. & Flavell, R. B. Cell 19, 545–560 (1980).
Johnson, E. M. Cell 22, 875–886 (1980).
Emery, H. S. & Weiner, A. M. Cell 26, 411–419 (1981).
Geshelin, P. & Berns, K. I. J. molec. Biol. 88, 785–796 (1974).
Watson, J. D. Nature new Biol. 239, 197–201 (1972).
Mocarski, E. S. & Roizman, B. Cell 31, 89–97 (1982).
Rekosh, D. M. K., Russell, W. C., Bellet, A. J. D. & Robinson, A. J. Cell 11, 283–295 (1977).
Salas, M. & Viñuela, E. Trends biochem. Sci. 5, 191–193 (1980).
Cavalier-Smith, T. Nature 250, 467–470 (1974).
Bateman, A. J. Nature 253, 379–380 (1975).
Holmquist, G. P. & Dancis, B. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 76, 4566–4570 (1979).
Pluta, A. F., Kaine, B. P. & Spear, B. B. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 8145–8154 (1982).
De Lange, T. & Borst, P. Nature 299, 451–453 (1982).
Cross, G. A. M. Parasitology 71, 393–417 (1975).
Capbern, A., Giroud, C., Baltz, T. & Mattern, P. Expl Parasit. 42, 6–13 (1977).
Hoeijmakers, J. H. J., Frasch, A. C. C., Bernards, A., Borst, P. & Cross, G. A. M. Nature 284, 78–80 (1980).
Borst, P. et al. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 45, 935–943 (1981).
Pays, E., Lheureux, M. & Steinert, M. Nature 292, 265–267 (1981).
Pays, E., Van Meirvenne, N., Le Ray, D. & Steinert, M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78, 2673–2677 (1981).
Michels, P. A. M. et al. J. molec. Biol. (in the press).
Van der Ploeg, L. H. T. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 3591–3604 (1982).
Boothroyd, J. C. & Cross, G. A. M. Gene 20, 279–287 (1982).
Liu, A. Y. C., Van der Ploeg, L. H. T., Rijsewijk, F. A. M. & Borst, P. J. molec. Biol. (in the press).
Borst, P. et al. 5th John Innes Symp. Biological Consequences of DNA Structure and Genome Arrangement, Norwich (Croom Helm, London, in the press).
Bernards, A. et al. Cell 27, 497–505 (1981).
Van der Ploeg, L. H. T., Bernards, A., Rijsewijk, F. A. M. & Borst, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 593–609 (1982).
Michels, P. A. M., Bernards, A., Van der Ploeg, L. H. T. & Borst, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 2353–2366 (1982).
Van der Ploeg, L. H. T. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 5905–5923 (1982).
Williams, R. O., Young, J. R. & Majiwa, P. A. O. Nature 282, 847–849 (1979).
Williams, R. O., Young, J. R., Majiwa, P. A. O., Doyle, J. J. & Shapiro, S. Z. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. quant. Biol. 45, 945–949 (1981).
Young, J. R., Donelson, J. E., Majiwa, P. A. O., Shapiro, S. Z. & Williams, R. O. Nucleic Acids Res. 10, 803–819 (1982).
Williams, R. O., Young, J. R. & Majiwa, P. A. O. Nature 299, 417–421 (1982).
Borst, P. et al. Proc. ICN-UCLA Symp Tumor Viruses and Differentiation (eds Scolnick, E. M. & Levine, A. J.) (Liss, New York, in the press).
Borst, P. & Cross, G. A. M. Cell 29, 291–303 (1982).
Heumann, J. M. Nucleic Acids Res. 3, 3167–3171 (1976).
Goldbach, R. W., Bollen-de Boer, J. E., Van Bruggen, E. F. J. & Borst, P. Biochim. biophys. Acta 562, 400–417 (1979).
Aarden, L. A., De Groot, E. R. & Feltkamp, T. E. W. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 254, 505–515 (1975).
Boothroyd, J. C., Paynter, C. A., Cross, G. A. M., Bernards, A. & Borst, P. Nucleic Acids Res. 9, 4735–4743 (1981).
Van Meirvenne, N., Janssens, P. G. & Magnus, E. Ann. Soc. Belge méd. Trop. 55, 1–23 (1975).
Britten, R. J., Graham, D. E. & Neufeld, B. R. Meth. Enzym. 29E, 363–418 (1974).
Penefsky, H. S. J. biol. Chem. 252, 2891–2899 (1977).
McDonell, M. W., Simon, M. N. & Studier, F. W. J. molec. Biol. 110, 119–146 (1977).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bernards, A., Michels, P., Lincke, C. et al. Growth of chromosome ends in multiplying trypanosomes. Nature 303, 592–597 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/303592a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/303592a0
This article is cited by
-
Telomerase activity is required for the telomere G-overhang structure in Trypanosoma brucei
Scientific Reports (2017)
-
A trans-spliced telomerase RNA dictates telomere synthesis in Trypanosoma brucei
Cell Research (2013)
-
Telomere structure and function in trypanosomes: a proposal
Nature Reviews Microbiology (2007)
-
Telomeres and telomerase: the path from maize, Tetrahymena and yeast to human cancer and aging
Nature Medicine (2006)
-
The central roles of telomeres and subtelomeres in antigenic variation in African trypanosomes
Chromosome Research (2005)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.