Trypanosoma cruzi FAIRE-seq

Trypanosoma protein-coding genes lacks dedicated promoters and are organized into co-directional gene clusters with unrelated function, resulting in a polycistronic gene transcription unit (PTU). Transcription start and termination sites are believed to be in the intergenic regions between two divergent (dSSR) or convergent (cSSR) PTU, respectively, presenting several epigenetic alterations that regulates transcription. Ribosome profile analysis of Trypanosoma cruzi showed more genes being translated in epimastigotes (EPI) than in metacyclics (MTs). Furthermore, alterations in nucleus and chromatin structures are observed during its life cycle, with EPI showing higher amount of euchromatin. To explore the chromatin changes along T. cruzi cycle, FAIRE-seq (Formaldehyde-Assisted Isolation of Regulatory Elements) assays were performed.