Alba protein-mediated gene and protein regulation in protozoan parasites

The success of protozoan parasites relies heavily on regulation of gene and protein expression to facilitate their persistence in harsh and often changing environments. These parasites display biology that is highly divergent from model eukaryotes, unfortunately leaving our understanding of these parasites' critical regulatory mechanisms incomplete. Alba proteins, a highly diverse group of DNA/RNA-binding proteins, are found across all domains of life and it has become increasingly apparent that these proteins play key regulatory roles in many protozoan parasite species including Plasmodium, Leishmania, Toxoplasma, and Trypanosoma. This review focusses on a subset of clinically relevant protozoan parasites and highlights the key biological processes known to have Alba protein involvement in these organisms including parasite development, survival, and virulence. In order to gain greater insight into these proteins, we also undertook a bioinformatic exploration of their protein sequences, leading us to identify previously unreported C-terminal Alba domain motifs and propose annotations for several currently unannotated protozoan Alba-like proteins. This collation of information allows us to observe common themes in Alba protein function across this group of parasites while also identifying areas of opportunity for further study.