Trypanosoma Brucei Gambiense

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Classification

Eukaryota; Euglenozoa; Kinetoplastida; Trypanosomatida; Trypanosomatidae [Others may be used. Use NCBI link to find]

Species

NCBI: [1]

Trypanosoma Brucei gambiense

Description and Significance

The genome T. Brucei gambiense is enriched in structural complexity. That is decorated with a flagellum emerging from the posterior end of its basal body. Its elongated body maintains a verbform spindle shape with tapering ends.

Trypanosoma Brucei gambiense's growth is stimulated in the blood of an intermediate host: tsetse fly's midgut, proventriculus, foregut, and salivary glands. But what defines this pathogenesis threat is its complex flagella and flagellar motility within mammalian hosts and the parasitic development in the tsetse fly vector. Although the true depth of contribution of its flagella is unknown due to its vast complexity.

Genome Structure

The linear shaped unicellular parasite can range from 15-30μ long and 1.5-3.5μ in width. With a content genome of 26-megabases, 9068 predicted genes, ~900 pseudogenes and ~1700 T. brucei specific genes. That also contains 11 mega base-size chromosomes.

The DNA in the chromosomes is organized as a supercoiled network that spans about 50 maxicircle DNA molecules. This allows the maxicircle in the DNA to encode about a dozen mitochondrial proteins.

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Similar to microorganisms that fall with the Trypanosoma family, T. Brucei gambiense shares the common tapered ends and the attachment of the long flagellum on its side.

Through a glycolysis metabolic pathway is T. brucei gambiense able to gain the proper nutrients. It will convert glucose into pyruvate that if exposed to aerobic conditions will breakdown to acetyl coenzyme and carbon dioxide. Doing this through the process of the TCA cycle and its reducing equivalents NADH, FADH2, and GTP.

For energy production for carbon sources T. brucei gambiense will use ATP as an intracellular energy source. ATP is induced via catabolic nutrients: carbon, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and amino acids.

Ecology and Pathogenesis

T. b. gambiense has remained prevalent in Central and Western parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Feeding in areas that have grown largely dependent on fishing, agriculture, animal husbandry, or hunting as means of survival. Often relying on the mutual relationship of excreted-secreted proteins that include macrophage arginase. The genome has introduced the production of other disease in livestock: nagana, surra, mal de caderas, and dourine.

T. b. gambiense is transmitted to humans through the bite of the tsetse fly. The fly obtains the parasite from an infected human or animal and then transmits it. The life cycle of the pathogen involves a stage spent in the blood or other tissues in the vertebrate host and a stage in the gut of an invertebrate. The invertebrates that allows for the pathogen to flourish are humans, primates, and ungulates-cattle.

If ever infected a patient can have symptoms that can sometimes go unnoticed because of silently carrying the virus. Usually when the infected fly bites a human or animal it will first target the central nervous system. This will cause the dysregulation of the host's immune system, mental deterioration, sleep disruption, speech problems, irritably, coma, or even death.

References

Swierczewski B, & John H (2011) Trypanosoma Brucei Gambiense- an Overview. Science Direct.https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/trypanosoma-brucei-gambiense

Ralston K, Kabututu Z, Melehani J, Oberholzer M, Hill K (2009) The Trypanosoma brucei Flagellum: Moving Parasites in New Directions.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3821760/

Ooi Pheng C, & Bastin P (2013) More than meets the eye: understanding Trypanosoma brucei morphology in tsetse. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3826061/

Smith T, Bringaud F, Nolan D, Figueiredo L (2017) Metabolic reprogramming during the Trypanosoma brucei life cycle.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5461901/

Author

Page authored by Jamie Montalban Petatan, student of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.