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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Using Fluorescent Proteins to Monitor Glycosome Dynamics in the African Trypanosome
Published on: August 19, 2014
Biology of African trypanosomes in the tsetse fly
K Vickerman1, L Tetley, K A Hendry
1Department of Zoology, University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
African trypanosomes present several features of interest to cell biologists. These include: a repressible single mitochondrion with a large mass of mitochondrial DNA, the kinetoplast; a special organelle, the glycosome, which houses the enzymes of the glycolytic chain; a surface coat of variable glycoprotein which enables the parasite to evade the mammalian host's immune response; and a unique flagellum-to-host attachment mechanism associated with novel cytoskeletal elements. Trypanosome development during the life cycle involves cyclical activation and repression of genes controlling these activities. Understanding the complexity of parasite development in the tsetse fly vector is especially challenging but may help to suggest new methods for the control of trypanosomiasis.
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