Unfolding the Genome: The Case Study of P. falciparum

The development of new ways to probe samples for the three-dimensional (3D) structure of DNA paves the way for in depth and systematic analyses of the genome architecture. 3C-like methods coupled with high-throughput sequencing can now assess physical interactions between pairs of loci in a genome-wide fashion, thus enabling the creation of genome-by-genome contact maps. The spreading of such protocols creates many new opportunities for methodological development: how can we infer 3D models from these contact maps? Can such models help us gain insights into biological processes? Several recent studies applied such protocols to P. falciparum (the deadliest of the five human malaria parasites), assessing its genome organization at different moments of its life cycle. With its small genomic size, fairly simple (yet changing) genomic organization during its lifecyle and strong correlation between chromatin folding and gene expression, this parasite is the ideal case study for applying and developing methods to infer 3D models and use them for downstream analysis. Here, I review a set of methods used to build and analyse three-dimensional models from contact maps data with a special highlight on P. falciparum's genome organization.