Nontranslated polyadenylated ribonucleic acids from the protozoan parasiteEntamoeba histolytica

Protozoan parasites display a range of unusual molecular mechanisms that ma y be helpful for their survival in nature. Among these parasites Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of amoebiasis, is one of the most prevalen t in developing countries like India. E. histolytica transcribes at least f our different unusual transcripts, IE, Tr, ehapt2 and UEE1, that are polyad enylated but do not have extensive open reading frames and are unlikely to code for anything other than small peptides, In this review we describe the current status of our understanding about these transcripts.