CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A PLASMODIUM-FALCIPARUM HOMOLOG OF THE RAN TC4 SIGNAL-TRANSDUCING GTPASE INVOLVED IN CELL-CYCLE CONTROL/

On the basis of conserved sequences characteristic of the Ran/TC4 subf amily of the GTPase superfamily, a fragment of the gene encoding a Pla smodium falciparum Ran/TC4 homologue was amplified in the polymerase c hain reaction. The fragment was used to screen a cDNA library to obtai n clones which allowed determination of the complete gene sequence. Th e gene, designated pfran (Plasmodium falciparum ras-like nuclear prote in), has around 70% amino acid identity with previously characterised Ran/TC4 proteins. Like other malarial mRNAs, the pfran mRNA contains a long (at least 679 bp) 5' untranslated region. Southern blotting expe riments show that pfran is a single copy gene located on chromosome 11 . RNA hybridisation experiments indicate that pfran mRNA is abundant i n late trophozoite and schizont stages, but present at very low levels in gametocytes and early asexual stages.