Trypanosomes are parasitic protozoa in which gene expression is primarily controlled through the regulation of
mRNA stability and translation. This post-transcriptional control is mediated by various families of RNA-binding
proteins, including those with zinc finger CCCH motifs. CCCH zinc finger proteins have been shown to be essential
to differentiation events in trypanosomatid parasites. Here, we functionally characterise
TcZFP2 as a predicted
post-transcriptional regulator of differentiation in
Trypanosoma cruzi
. This protein was detected in cell culturederived
amastigotes and trypomastigotes, but it was present in smaller amounts in metacyclic trypomastigote forms
of
T. cruzi. We use an optimised recombinant RNA immunopreciptation followed by microarray analysis assay to
identify
TcZFP2 target mRNAs. We further demonstrate that
TcZFP2 binds an A-rich sequence in which the adenosine
residue repeats are essential for high-affinity recognition. An analysis of the expression profiles of the genes
encoding the
TcZFP2-associated mRNAs throughout the parasite life cycle by microarray hybridisation showed that
most of the associated mRNAs were upregulated in the metacyclic trypomastigote forms, also suggesting a role for
TcZFP2 in metacyclic trypomastigote differentiation. Knockdown of the orthologous
Trypanosoma brucei
protein
levels showed ZFP2 to be a positive regulator of specific target mRNA abundance.
