Trans-acting GC-rich non-coding RNA at var expression site modulates gene counting in malaria parasite

Monoallelic expression of the var multigene family enables immune evasion of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum in its human host. At a given time only a single member of the 60-member var gene family is expressed at a discrete perinuclear region called the ‘var expression site’. However, the mechanism of var gene counting remains ill-defined. We hypothesize that activation factors associating specifically with the expression site play a key role in this process. Here, we investigate the role of a GC-rich non-coding RNA (ncRNA) gene family composed of 15 highly homologous members. GC-rich genes are positioned adjacent to var genes in chromosome-central gene clusters but are absent near subtelomeric var genes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization demonstrates that GC-rich ncRNA localizes to the perinuclear expression site of central and subtelomeric var genes in trans. Importantly, overexpression of distinct GC-rich ncRNA members disrupts the gene counting process at the single cell level and results in activation of a specific subset of var genes in distinct clones. We identify the first trans-acting factor targeted to the elusive perinuclear var expression site and open up new avenues to investigate ncRNA function in antigenic variation of malaria and other protozoan pathogens.