Projects per year
Abstract
Differentiation is a central aspect of the parasite lifecycle and encompasses adaptation to both host and environment. If we accept that evolution cannot anticipate an organism’s needs as it enters a new environment, how do parasite differentiation pathways arise? The transition between vertebrate and insect stage African trypano-somes is probably one of the better studied and involves a cell-cycle arrested or ‘stumpy’ form that activates metabolic pathways advantageous to the parasite in the insect host. However, a range of stimuli and stress conditions can trigger similar changes, leading to formation of stumpy-like cellular states. We propose that the origin and optimisation of this differentiation program represents repurposing of a generic stress response to gain considerable gain-of-fitness associated with parasite trans-mission.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 296-303 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Trends in Parasitology |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 11 Dec 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 2021 |
Keywords
- Trypanosoma brucei
- adaptive mechanisms
- environmental sensing
- evolution of differentiation
- life history theory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Parasitology
- Infectious Diseases
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Dive into the research topics of 'Evolving differentiation in African trypanosomes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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A Systems Approach for Understanding Cell Surface Dynamics in Trypanosomes (Investigator Award)
Field, M. (Investigator)
1/10/17 → 31/03/24
Project: Research