Trypanosoma brucei repeated element with unusual structural and transcriptional properties

The genome of Trypanosoma brucei contains up to 400 copies of a conserved sequence (TRS, trypanosome repeated sequence). The majority of TRS copies (TRS1) are 5.2 X 10(3) base-pairs (kb) and are flanked by different separate halves of the previously described transposable element RIME (ribosomal mobile element), although a variant copy (TRS2) contains only the central 1.45 kb portion and lacks RIME. TRS1 elements can probably undergo transposition, since they are dispersed in all chromosome size classes and are bordered by direct repeats of about four base-pairs. Some TRS1 elements may contain an open reading frame over almost their entire length (1651 codons), encoding a protein showing homology with reverse transcriptase. TRS probes detect poly(A)+ transcripts of 5 to 9 kb, generated by a polymerase moderately sensitive to alpha-amanitin. Transcription is developmentally regulated. Both TRS and RIME sense transcripts are preferentially synthesized compared to anti-sense transcripts, and are much more abundant in bloodstream forms than in cultured procyclics.