Representation of differential expression: a new approach to study differential gene expression in trypanosomatids

During the past five years, several methods have been described that allow the isolation and cloning of stage-specific or cell-specific genes. The characterization of genes expressed at different stages of parasite development is of the utmost importance for the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene expression. Here, Samuel Goldenberg and Marco Aurelio Krieger describe a method for the amplification and cloning of Trypanosoma cruzi genes expressed specifically at different times of the metacyclogenesis process. This method, representation of differential expression (RDE), should be useful for the isolation and cloning of any trypanosomatid gene transcribing differentially expressed messenger RNA.