The heart of darkness: growth and form of Trypanosoma brucei in the tsetse fly
نویسندگان
چکیده
The first description of African trypanosomes was made over a century ago. The importance of the tsetse in transmission and cyclic development of trypanosomes was discovered soon afterwards, and has been the focus of numerous studies since. However, investigation of trypanosomes in tsetse flies requires high resource investment and unusual patience; hence, many facets of trypanosome biology in the tsetse remain to be characterised despite the long history of research. Here, current knowledge and questions about some of the developmental changes in trypanosomes that occur in tsetse flies are summarised, along with recent technical advances that can now be used to provide some answers.
منابع مشابه
Specific immunity in rats inoculated with Trypanosoma brucei brucei derived from tsetse salivary glands and cultured in vitro.
Twenty rats were each immunized intraperitoneally with 1.25 X 10(7) formalin-fixed Trypanosoma brucei brucei (Stock EATRO 1969) derived from tsetse salivary glands and propagated in culture at 29 degrees C in their infective form for more than 1000 days. Another group, consisting of 10 rats, was similarly immunized with parasites of stock EATRO 999 derived from salivary glands of a tsetse fly a...
متن کاملMaturation of a Trypanosoma brucei infection to the infectious metacyclic stage is enhanced in nutritionally stressed tsetse flies.
We report on the effect of tsetse fly starvation on the maturation of an established Trypanosoma brucei brucei midgut infection, i.e., the development of procyclic infection into the infectious metacyclic parasites in the tsetse fly salivary glands. Glossina morsitans morsitans flies were nutritionally stressed 10 d after the uptake of a T. b. brucei-infected bloodmeal by depriving these flies ...
متن کاملTsetse EP Protein Protects the Fly Midgut from Trypanosome Establishment
African trypanosomes undergo a complex developmental process in their tsetse fly vector before transmission back to a vertebrate host. Typically, 90% of fly infections fail, most during initial establishment of the parasite in the fly midgut. The specific mechanism(s) underpinning this failure are unknown. We have previously shown that a Glossina-specific, immunoresponsive molecule, tsetse EP p...
متن کاملTsetse fly saliva: Could it be useful in fly infection when feeding in chronically aparasitemic mammalian hosts
Sleeping sickness and nagana are two important diseases cuased by African trypanosomes in humans and animals respectively, in tropical african countries. A number of trypanosome species are implicated in these diseases, but it is the Trypanosoma brucei group that is responsible for the chronic form of sleeping sickness. During the course of this chronic infection the parasite shows a clear trop...
متن کاملFactors Affecting Trypanosome Maturation in Tsetse Flies
Trypanosoma brucei brucei infections which establish successfully in the tsetse fly midgut may subsequently mature into mammalian infective trypanosomes in the salivary glands. This maturation is not automatic and the control of these events is complex. Utilising direct in vivo feeding experiments, we report maturation of T. b. brucei infections in tsetse is regulated by antioxidants as well as...
متن کامل