The chromosomal ends ofLeishmania (Leishmania) ama-zonensis contain conserved 5¢-TTAGGG-3¢ telomeric repeats. Protein complexes that associatein vitro with these DNA sequences,Leishmania amazonensisG-strand telo-meric protein (LaGT1-3), were identified and characterized byelectrophoreticmobilityshift assays andUVcross-linking using protein fractions purified from S100 and nuclear extracts. The three complexes did not form (a) with double-stranded DNA and the C-rich telomeric strand, (b) in competition assays using specific telomeric DNA oligo-nucleotides, or (c) after pretreatment with protein-ase K. .
