In the course of excystation, the steady-state level of EieIF5A1 transcript was increased and peaked at 8 hr, while that of eIF5A2 transcript was transiently abolished at 8 hr, but increased to the level similar to that in the cyst (Fig 9B), suggesting that eIF5A1 plays an excystation-specific role in Entamoeba. The transcript level of EieIF5A3 gene, which is not expressed in trophozoites, remained unchanged throughout the excystation process. This evidence concerns the gene EIF5A and cyst.