The heart of darkness: Growth and form of Trypanosoma brucei in the tsetse fly

Sharma, R., Gluenz, E. , Peacock, L., Gibson, W., Gull, K. and Carrington, M. (2009) The heart of darkness: Growth and form of Trypanosoma brucei in the tsetse fly. Trends in Parasitology, 25(11), pp. 517-524. (doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2009.08.001) (PMID:19747880) (PMCID:PMC3770903)

Abstract

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.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Work in the research group of M.C. is funded by the Wellcome Trust. K.G. and E.G. are funded by the Wellcome Trust and EPA Trust. K.G. is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow. Work in the research group of W.G. is funded by the Wellcome Trust (grant number 079375). R.S. held a PhD studentship from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gluenz, Dr Eva
• Authors: Sharma, R., Gluenz, E., Peacock, L., Gibson, W., Gull, K., and Carrington, M.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity
• Journal Name: Trends in Parasitology
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press)
• ISSN: 1471-4922
• ISSN (Online): 1471-5007
• Published Online: 09 September 2009
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd.
• First Published: First published in Trends in Parasitology 25(11):517-524
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License