The kinetoplastid protozoa infect hosts ranging from invertebrates to plants and mammals, causing diseases of medical and economic importance. They are the earliest-branching organisms in eucaryotic evolution to have either mitochondria or peroxisome-like microbodies. Investigation of their protein trafficking enables us to identify characteristics that have been conserved throughout eucaryotic...

Pathogens that are able to enter and multiply within human cells are responsible for multiple diseases and millions of deaths worldwide. Thus, the challenge is to elucidate these pathogen-specific and cell biological mechanisms involved in intracellular growth and spread. Bacteria from the genus Legionella belong to this group of pathogens. They are environmental bacteria and ubiquitous in natu...

We have identified telomerase activity in extracts of three evolutionarily diverse kinetoplastid species: Trypanosoma brucei, Leishmania major, and Leishmania tarentolae. Telomerase activity was initially detected in extracts from insect form cells of all three kinetoplastid species by using a modification of the one-tube telomere repeat amplification protocol [Kim, N., et al. (1994) Science 26...

Three growth studies were conducted with lambs, mature wethers and young cattle to examine the effects of defaunation on production. The animals were fed a' high energy-low protein diet su.pplemented with several levels of protein. These diets supported relatively high populations of protozoa in the rumen. A single dose of nonyl phenol ethoxylate (trade name Teric GN9) was used to remove protoz...

A procedure for the semi-automatic identification of the main protozoa and metazoa species present in the activated sludge of wastewater treatment plants was developed. This procedure was based on both image processing and multivariable statistical methodologies, leading to the use of the image analysis morphological descriptors by discriminant analysis and neural network techniques. The image ...

There is increased recognition that dendritic cells (DCs) are an important source of the IL-12 required to initiate protective immunity to protozoa, such as Leishmania and Toxoplasma. This article reviews the advances made in the last two years in understanding the pathways that lead to DC activation after infection with these organisms. Interestingly, there appear to be differences in the DC a...

Charon ventriculi comprised over 30% of the total protozoa observed in rumen contents of a Flamenga cow fed Rhodes grass hay (Chloris gayana). Both percentage of composition and concentration decreased markedly when concentrate was added to the ration or the animal was fed in pasture. Although C. ventriculi is classified as a holotrich, concentrations of this species in the rumen appear to foll...

Parasitic and bacterial infections affecting the gastrointestinal tract represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Nitroheterocyclic drugs have been available since the early 1960s for the treatment of anaerobic protozoa. The application of these drugs has widened and they are presently used to treat anaerobic pathogenic bacteria and protozoa. 5-nitroimidazoles are a we...