Transcription mapping of a 100 kb locus of Plasmodium falciparum identifies an intergenic region in which transcription terminates and reinitiates.

We have mapped Plasmodium falciparum erythrocytic stage transcription units on chromosome 10 in the vicinity of the gene encoding the glycophorin binding protein (GBP130) using yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). Three erythrocytic stage transcription units are clustered in a 40 kb region. Two of these genes are closely linked, separated by less than 2 kb. Nuclear run-on data demonstrate that transcription of these two genes, though unidirectional, is monocistronic. Within this intergenic region are the sites at which transcription of the upstream gene terminates and the GBP130 gene initiates. These studies represent the first description of the minimal and necessary cis-acting elements for transcription termination and initiation in this protozoan parasite.