Datum: 15.02.2019

Trypanosomatids: a Different Way of Being a Eukaryote

 

The latest Paper of the Month from Parasitology is ‘Recent advances in trypanosomatid research: genome organization, expression, metabolism, taxonomy and evolution‘ by Prof. Dmitri A. Maslov

If a college graduate with a major in natural sciences is asked: ‘what are eukaryotes?’, the answer would likely be based on what he/she learned in an introductory biology course about mammalian or yeast cells. A student, whose major is biology, would probably recall that eukaryotes are actually a rather diverse group, yet the term “kinetoplastid” or “trypanosomatid” would not ring any bells. And while everyone would know that malaria is a devastating tropical disease, the same level of awareness does not apply to African trypanosomiasis and Chagas disease, not mentioning “kala-azar” or “chiclero’s ear”. Yet, these are devastating diseases which, with a few exceptions, are fatal or debilitating, with tens of thousands of people affected and millions being at risk. These trypanosomatid-caused diseases mostly affect poor rural populations in the developing world. They were often referred to as “neglected” diseases and, thus, historically fell below the radar of funding agencies and pharmaceutical companies. Although, more recently, due to increased attention from WHO, CDC and other organizations, these diseases should no longer be viewed as truly neglected, the general situation remains grim, and the road to development of the effective treatment, control and prevention measures is almost as long as it was decades ago.

Cambridge core blog - click here. 


Maslov D.A., Opperdoes F.R., Kostygov A.Y., Hashimi H., Lukeš J., Yurchenko V. 2019: Recent advances in trypanosomatid research: genome organization, expression, metabolism, taxonomy and evolution. Parasitology 146: 1–27. [IF=2.511]
Doi: 10.1017/S0031182018000951

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