WEEK 1 Trypanosoma and Leishmania basics Flashcards
What are kinetoplastids?
Single celled eukaryotes
Kinetoplastids are in which phylum? and how many other classes are in this phylum?
Eugenozoa
2 in total
Where does the class Kinetoplastida get its name?
The name comes from the kinetoplast which is where the mitochondrial genome is
What is the order of the causataive agent of HAT
Trypanosomatida (cork screw motion)
Give 3 details about Trypanosomatida
All are parasitic
Primarily found in insects
Some heteroxenous (secondary hosts)
What are the 5 genera in Trypanosomatida order?
Leptomonas Blastocrithidia Crithidia Phytomonas Trypanosoma Leishmania
Which 3 genera in Trypanosomatida infect only insects and primarily their digestive tract?
Leptomonas
Blastocrithidia
Crithidia
Which genus in the order Trypanosomatida infects insects and can be transmitted via saliva and also infects plants?
Phytomonas
How can trypanosoma and leishmania be transmitted?
Saliva, faeces, regurgitated matter
What are the 3 diseases we are concerned with in the genera Trypanosoma and Leishmania?
What are their causative agents?
Human African Trypanosomiasis (T.brucei)
Chagas disease (T.cruzi)
Leishmaniasis (Leishmania spp)
the different morphologies or forms can be distinguished by which four features?
Position of kinetoplast relative to nucleus
Position of flagella pocket relative to nucleus
Presence / size of flagellum
Presence of undulating membrane
What is the undulating membrane?
Structure linking flagella to cell body
What are the four different parasite morphologies?
Trypomastigote
Epimastigote
Promastigote
Amastigote
What is special about the mitochondrion?
1 per cell that has a complex lattice structure spread throughout cell
contains kDNA
What is the kDNA?
It is a network of DNA found in defined region of mitochondrion
