Reliable, scalable functional genetics in bloodstream-form Trypanosoma congolense in vitro and in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a severe, wasting disease of domestic livestock and diverse wildlife species. The disease in cattle kills millions of animals each year and inflicts a major economic cost on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Cattle AAT is caused predominantly by the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma congolense and T. vivax, but laboratory research on the pathogenic stages of these organisms is severely inhibited by difficulties in making even minor genetic modifications. As a result, many of the important basic questions about the biology of these parasites cannot be addressed. Here we demonstrate that an in vitro culture of the T. congolense genomic reference strain can be modified directly in the bloodstream form reliably and at high efficiency. We describe a parent

SUBMITTER: Awuah-Mensah G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7870057 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature