Through the dark continent: African trypanosome development in the tsetse fly.

Brice Rotureau (1) , Jan van den Abbeele (2, 3)

1 Biologie cellulaire des Trypanosomes - Trypanosome Cell Biology
2 Unit of Veterinary Protozoology
3 Laboratoire de Zoophysiologie

African trypanosomes are unicellular flagellated parasites causing trypanosomiases in Africa, a group of severe diseases also known as sleeping sickness in human and nagana in cattle. These parasites are almost exclusively transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. In this review, we describe and compare the three developmental programs of the main trypanosome species impacting human and animal health, with focus on the most recent observations. From here, some reflections are made on research issues concerning trypanosome developmental biology in the tsetse fly that are to be addressed in the future.

Keywords: African trypanosomes; development; parasite cycle; tsetse fly; vector

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Microbiology and Parasitology; Parasitology

Brice Rotureau, Jan van den Abbeele. Through the dark continent: African trypanosome development in the tsetse fly.. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2013, 3, pp.53. ⟨10.3389/fcimb.2013.00053⟩. ⟨pasteur-01371315⟩