Interspersed repetitive DNA from Plasmodium falciparum.

An interspersed repetitive DNA element from the Camp strain of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum was cloned and sequenced. The element is repeated at least 11 times in the genome, is a minimum of 2.0 kilobases long and maps to eight or more different parasite chromosomes. The cloned DNA includes a 1.0 kilobase open reading frame. RNA complementary to the repetitive element is found within blood stage forms of the parasite, but only in the most mature forms. Searches of DNA and protein sequence databases for homology to the element were unsuccessful. Sizes of restriction enzyme fragments which hybridize to the element show considerable variation between strains, indicating that the repeat family represented by this element could be transposable.