H3K36 methylation reprograms gene expression to drive early gametocyte development in Plasmodium falciparum

The Plasmodium sexual gametocyte stages are the only transmissible form of the malaria parasite and are thus responsible for the continued transmission of the disease. Gametocytes undergo extensive functional and morphological changes from commitment to maturity, directed by an equally extensive control program. Several interconnected mechanisms governing sexual commitment have been described. However, the processes that drive the subsequent differentiation and development of the gametocyte remain largely unexplored. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing we map the genome-wide occupancy of H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 during early gametocyte development and describe an association between these histone modifications and the global changes in the transcriptional program driving gametocyte development post-commitment. Investigation of H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 dynamics during early development in P. falciparum gametocytes