The detection of phosphonolipids in the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi

2-Aminoethylphosphonate was detected in the acid hydrolysates of the phosphonolipids and the lipopeptidophosphoglycan of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease. This finding represents the first evidence of phosphonolipids in a zooflagellate. By comparison, no phosphonolipids were detected in Trypanosama brucei, indicating that phosphonolipids are not a ubiquitous feature of the Order Kinetoplastidia.