The Trypanosoma brucei telomerase RNA (TER) homologue binds core proteins of the C/D snoRNA family

• The Trypanosoma brucei telomerase RNA is a C/D snoRNA that is localized near the nucleolus.
• TER silencing causes shortening of the chromosomes but no growth arrest.
• pre-TER is trans-spliced linking trans-splicing to the processing of non-coding RNAs.

Trypanosome protozoan parasites are the causative agents of devastating diseases. Trypanosome telomeres grow in an uncontrolled manner and the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes are located in subtelomeric domains. The gene encoding telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) was identified and in this study, we describe the Trypanosoma brucei telomerase RNA (TER). TER RNA is bound by the core proteins of the C/D small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) family and associates with the methyltransferase-associated protein (MTAP), whose homologue binds to mammalian TER. Silencing of TbTER resulted in telomere shortening. This is the first report of a TER that binds the C/D snoRNA core proteins.