ArticleGenes & development1999
A role for RAD51 and homologous recombination in Trypanosoma brucei antigenic variation.
Article in Genes & development, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 182 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Genomic and structural analysis of major antigenic proteins' variability in the human relapsing fever spirocheteCurrent research in microbial sciences · 2026Article
- Plasmodium falciparum DNA repair dynamics reveal unique roles for TLS polymerases and PfRad51 in genome diversification.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Nanopore sequencing reveals that DNA replication compartmentalisation dictates genome stability and instability in Trypanosoma brucei.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Unwrap RAP1's Mystery at Kinetoplastid Telomeres.Biomolecules · 2024Review
- Article
- RAD51-mediated R-loop formation acts to repair transcription-associated DNA breaks driving antigenic variation inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Immunoprecipitation of RNA-DNA hybrid interacting proteins in Trypanosoma brucei reveals conserved and novel activities, including in the control of surface antigen expression needed for immune evasion by antigenic variation.Nucleic acids research · 2023Article
- Decoding the impact of nuclear organization on antigenic variation in parasites.Nature microbiology · 2023Review
- UMSBP2 is chromatin remodeler that functions in regulation of gene expression and suppression of antigenic variation in trypanosomes.Nucleic acids research · 2023Article
- Article
- Telomere maintenance in African trypanosomes.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2023Review
- Divergent binding mode for a protozoan BRC repeat to RAD51.The Biochemical journal · 2022Article
- Shared Mechanisms for Mutually Exclusive Expression and Antigenic Variation by Protozoan Parasites.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Review
- DNA double strand break position leads to distinct gene expression changes and regulates VSG switching pathway choice.PLoS pathogens · 2021Article
- Regulation of Antigenic Variation byPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Importance of Angomonas deanei KAP4 for kDNA arrangement, cell division and maintenance of the host-bacterium relationship.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- The MRN complex promotes DNA repair by homologous recombination and restrains antigenic variation in African trypanosomes.Nucleic acids research · 2021Article
- DNA Double-Strand Breaks: A Double-Edged Sword for Trypanosomatids.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor: Non-deterministic Mechanisms Diversifying Cell Surface Molecule Expression.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Antigenic variation is an immune evasion strategy used by African trypanosomes, in which the parasites periodically switch the expression of VSG genes that encode their protective variant surface glycoprotein coat. Two main routes exist for VSG switching: changing the transcriptional status between an active and an inactive copy of the site of VSG expression, called the bloodstream VSG expression site, or recombination reactions that move silent VSGs or VSG copies into the actively transcribed expression site. Nothing is known about the proteins that control and catalyze these switching reactions. This study describes the cloning of a trypanosome gene encoding RAD51, an enzyme involved in DNA break repair and genetic exchange, and analysis of the role of the enzyme in antigenic variation. Trypanosomes genetically inactivated in the RAD51 gene were shown to be viable, and had phenotypes consistent with lacking functional expression of an enzyme of homologous recombination. The mutants had an impaired ability to undergo VSG switching, and it appeared that both recombinational and transcriptional switching reactions were down-regulated, indicating that RAD51 either catalyzes or regulates antigenic variation. Switching events were still detectable, however, so it appears that trypanosome factors other than RAD51 can also provide for antigenic variation.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.