Differential expression of mitochondrial genes between life cycle stages of Trypanosoma brucei.

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Abstract
The mitochondrial respiratory system is differentially produced during the life cycle of the parasitic protozoan, T. brucei. Transcripts (14) that are derived from a maxicircle (mitochondrial DNA) region that contains sequences homologous to cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II, unassigned reading frame 1 from mitochondrial DNA of other organisms, and 2 other open reading frames. Ten of these transcripts occur as pairs that differ in size by .apprx. 200 nucleotides. While most of these transcripts occur in both life cycle forms, 4 transcripts are differentially expressed. Of these, 2 are more abundant in bloodstream forms, 1 is more abundant in procyclic forms, and 1 is present in procyclic but not bloodstream forms. The differential production of the mitochondrial respiratory system in T. brucei apparently entails regulation of mitochondrial transcriptional and/or posttranscriptional processes.