Divergence of Noncoding Sequences and of Insertions Encoding Nonglobular Domains at a Genomic Region Well Conserved in Plasmodia

To identify conserved features in the rapidly diverging portions of a well-conserved locus, completely sequenced in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei, a computational method based on recurrence analysis was exploited. At the level of the genomic sequence, in both species, introns and intergenic sequences—though subject to rapid diversification—do not drift without constraints, but rather coevolve, in the sense that they maintain not only an AT-rich base composition, but also a consistent use of recurring (AT)n tracts. One of the two genes present in the conserved locus encodes a protein that exhibits blocks of high similarity to the first enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis (γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase) but bears long low-complexity insertions, absent in other organisms. From an analysis of the aminoacid sequence, different constraints appear to act on the borders and on the central part of the insertions. Albeit maintaining a strong bias toward hydrophylic residues, central portions diverge more rapidly than borders, through point mutation and differential presence of entire tracts.