A Newly Formed Telomere in Ascaris suum Does Not Exert a Telomere Position Effect on a Nearby Gene

Abstract

During the process of chromatin diminution in Ascaris suum (formerly named Ascaris lumbricoides var. suum), developmentally regulated chromosomal fragmentation and new telomere addition occur within specific chromosomal breakage regions (CBRs). The DNA sequences flanking one of these CBRs (CBR-1) were analyzed, and two protein-encoding genes were found on either side. The noneliminated gene, agp-1, whose AUG start codon is located within approximately 2 kb of the boundary of CBR-1, encodes a putative GTP-binding protein which is structurally related to eukaryotic and prokaryotic elongation factors. Northern (RNA) blot analyses revealed that transcripts of this gene are present at all developmental stages, suggesting that the massive chromosomal rearrangements associated with the process of chromatin diminution have no influence on agp-1 expression. This demonstrates that addition of new telomeres in CBR-1 does not result in a telomeric position effect, a phenomenon previously described in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.