TOXOPLASMA-GONDII EXPRESSED SEQUENCE TAGS - INSIGHT INTO TACHYZOITE GENE-EXPRESSION

Analysis of DNA sequences from the 5' end of 239 directionally cloned Toxoplasma gondii RH strain tachyzoite derived cDNAs revealed signific ant similarity to several classes of genes/proteins including 24 ribos omal proteins, five metabolic enzymes, four cell-cycle regulators and 15 previously cloned T.gondii genes. The remaining sequences with no s ignificant match include several which were recovered more than once. The variety and redundancy of expressed sequence tags (ESTs GenBankTM accession numbers T62239-T62475) in this sample suggest that the tachy zoite cDNA library reflects tachyzoite gene expression. A large scale EST effort should uncover many new genes and provide a wealth of infor mation about genes involved with the growth and proliferation of tachy zoites.