Transcript-specific developmental regulation of polyadenylation in Trypanosoma brucei mitochondria

Transcripts from many mitochondrial genes in kinetoplastids are heterogeneous in size, often occurring as 2 distinct size classes, but this cannot be accounted for by RNA editing alone. Analyses of transcripts from 6 mitochondrial genes of Trypanosoma brucei indicates that the size variation is due to poly(A) tail length. A larger fraction of CYb, COI and COII transcripts have longer poly(A) tails in procyclic than in bloodstream forms. These transcripts are also more abundant in the procyclic forms. In contrast, a more substantial fraction of CR1 transcripts have longer poly(A) tails in bloodstream than in procyclic forms and these transcripts tend to be more abundant in bloodstream forms. Both ND4 and MURF1 transcripts show a similar size distribution of poly(A) tail lengths in these life cycle states although both transcripts are more abundant in bloodstream forms. Furthermore, genes with edited transcripts tend to have longer poly(A) tails than unedited transcripts. Transcript abundance is not strictly correlated with longer poly(A) tails. Thus, poly(A) length variation appears to be developmentally regulated in a transcript-specific fashion in T. brucei. This regulation of polyadenylation may influence mitochondrial gene expression as polyadenylation can regulate cytoplasmic gene expression in eukaryotes.