Transcription of the Leishmania major Hsp70-I gene locus does not proceed through the noncoding region.

Primary transcripts in kinetoplastid protozoa are generally assumed to be multicistronic. We have analyzed the transcription in the gene locus which encodes the 70-kDa heat shock protein by using nuclear run-on analysis. We find that RNA synthesis in the Hsp70-I gene locus either is terminated or pauses within the intergenic region approximately 250 nt downstream of the polyadenylation site. We therefore propose a discontinuous mode of transcription in the Hsp70 genes of Leishmania major.