Characterisation of the porcine pathogen Trypanosoma (Pycnomonas) suis
2022
Hochschulschrift
Zugriff:
African trypanosomes are unicellular, flagellated, eukaryotic protists that parasitise a variety of mammalian hosts, and are transmitted by the blood-feeding tsetse fly (Glossina). Diseases caused by these parasites, human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) and animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT), are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and the associated costs are important limiting factors for social and agricultural development. Trypanosoma suis is a pig-infective trypanosome about which very little is known. This poorly understood parasite is of interest both as an emerging pig pathogen and as a close relative to the major human and cattle pathogens T. brucei and T. congolense. Much of the current research regarding AAT focuses on trypanosomes in cattle, and very little attention has been given to the disease in other agricultural crop species, especially pigs. In this project, protocols were developed for the culture and maintenance of T. suis in vitro, and the development of T. suis in the tsetse fly was investigated using a range of in vitro and in vivo techniques, which led to the isolation of an epimastigote culture and the identification of proventricular forms. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the placement of T. suis as a sister group to the subgenus Trypanozoon. The genome for T. suis was assembled and analysed, with a focus on the minichromosomes, variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) repertoire and kinetoplast DNA. T. suis was successfully transfected using constructs containing sequences from T. brucei and T. congolense, although promoter sequences from these species were unintelligible in T. suis. A bi-directionalreporter construct, pBBC-1 was developed for testing putative promoter cassettes and was used in the search of a T. suis promoter, which also identified three procyclin loci. This study serves to summarise T. suis across a broad range of disciplines and highlight priorities, and provide tools, for further T. suis research.
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Characterisation of the porcine pathogen Trypanosoma (Pycnomonas) suis
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Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | Hutchinson, Rachel L. |
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Veröffentlichung: | 2022 |
Medientyp: | Hochschulschrift |
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