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Updated: Oct 25, 2026

Deciphering the Molecular Mechanism and Function of Pore-Forming Toxins Using Leishmania major
Published on: October 28, 2022
Intertwining genome organisation and gene regulation in Leishmania
Jennifer A Black1, Jeziel D Damasceno2, Richard McCulloch3
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040-900, Brazil; University of Glasgow Centre for Parasitology, School of Infection and Immunity, Sir Graeme Davies Building, 120 University Place, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
Abstract:
Leishmania are trypanosomatid parasites whose unorthodox genomes challenge classical views of how DNA replication and gene expression are regulated in eukaryotes. Within this unconventional genomic context, chromosome replication, constitutive polycistronic transcription, chromatin architecture, and noncoding RNAs emerge not as discrete regulatory layers but as mutually dependent determinants of gene expression and genome stability. Recent advances have also uncovered an unexpected interconnection between Leishmania's evolutionarily divergent replication stress response machinery and its peculiar genomic organisation and expression. In this review, we discuss how recent discoveries are reshaping our understanding of genome biology in Leishmania and highlight the integration of DNA replication, gene expression, and genome maintenance as a unifying principle underlying the remarkable capacity of these parasites to adapt and evolve.
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