Trypanosoma cruzi: analysis of the population dynamics of heterogeneous mixtures

Utilizing the previously reported inter-clonal differences in total DNA/organism, flow cytometry was used to analyze the population dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi clone mixtures growing in liquid medium or vertebrate cells. The growth of clone mixtures in liquid medium can be described by unique parameters reflecting exponential growth rate (r), stationary phase population density (1/k), and the interaction between the clones (h). The relative numbers of each clone in the population change rapidly with time and the results are in quantitative agreement with mathematical models of competitive population growth. The relationship between the parameters for T. cruzi is such that, in general, there is no dynamic equilibrium with coexistence of clones with different growth rates; under all culture protocols, the faster growing clone will prevail. A computer simulation of the vertebrate cell cycle of T. cruzi suggests that clone mixtures grow relatively independently; the basic attributes of the model were substantiated experimentally. Although wide fluctuations in the proportion of each clone released occurred, the faster growing clone again predominated. Finally, these results underline the importance of working with well-defined clones in the laboratory to avoid inconsistencies and paradoxical results and stress the importance of the rapid isolation of single cell clones from clinical specimens when studying the relationship of the parasite to human disease.