Trypanosoma congolense: Molecular Toolkit and Resources for Studying a Major Livestock Pathogen and Model Trypanosome

Towards disentangling the classification of freshwater fish trypanosomes

Currently, new species of freshwater fish trypanosomes, which are economically important parasites, are being described based on subjectively selected features, i.e., their cell morphology and the host species. We have performed detailed phylogenetic and haplotype diversity analyses of all 18S rRNA genes available for freshwater fish trypanosomes, including the newly obtained sequences of Trypanosoma carassii and Trypanosoma danilewskyi. Based on a sequence similarity of 99.5%, we divide these trypanosomes into 15 operational taxonomic units, and propose three nominal scenarios for distinguishing T. carassii and other aquatic trypanosomes. We find evidences for the existence of a low number of freshwater fish trypanosomes, with T. carassii having the widest geographic and host ranges. Our analyses support the existence of an umbrella complex composed of T. carassii and two sister species.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-023-00191-0.

Recent advances in genome editing of bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma congolense using CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins: Proof of concept

African Animal Trypanosomosis (AAT or Nagana) is a vector-borne disease caused by Trypanosomatidae, genus Trypanosoma. The disease is transmitted by the bite of infected hematophagous insects, mainly tsetse flies but also other blood-sucking insects including stomoxes and tabanids. Although many trypanosome species infect animals, the main agents responsible for this disease with a strong socio-economic and veterinary health impact are Trypanosoma congolense (T. congolense or Tc), Trypanosoma vivax (T.vivax), and to a lesser extent, Trypanosoma brucei brucei (T.brucei brucei or Tbb). These parasites mainly infect livestock, including cattle, in sub-Saharan Africa, with major repercussions in terms of animal productivity and poverty for populations which are often already very poor. As there is currently no vaccine, the fight against the disease is primarily based on diagnosis, treatment and vector control. To develop new tools (particularly therapeutic tools) to fight against the disease, we need to know both the biology and the genes involved in the pathogenicity and virulence of the parasites. To date, unlike for Trypanosoma brucei (T.brucei) or Trypanosoma cruzi (T.cruzi), genome editing tools has been relatively little used to study T. congolense. We present an efficient, reproducible and stable CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system for use in Tc bloodstream forms (Tc-BSF). This plasmid-free system is based on transient expression of Cas9 protein and the use of a ribonucleoprotein formed by the Cas9 and sgRNA complex. This is the first proof of concept of genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins on Tc-BSF. This adapted protocol enriches the "toolbox" for the functional study of genes of interest in blood forms of the Trypanosoma congolense. This proof of concept is an important step for the scientific community working on the study of trypanosomes and opens up new perspectives for the control of and fight against animal trypanosomosis.

Mitochondrial adaptations throughout the Trypanosoma brucei life cycle

The unicellular parasite Trypanosoma brucei has a digenetic life cycle that alternates between a mammalian host and an insect vector. During programmed development, this extracellular parasite encounters strikingly different environments that determine its energy metabolism. Functioning as a bioenergetic, biosynthetic, and signaling center, the single mitochondrion of T. brucei is drastically remodeled to support the dynamic cellular demands of the parasite. This manuscript will provide an up-to-date overview of how the distinct T. brucei developmental stages differ in their mitochondrial metabolic and bioenergetic pathways, with a focus on the electron transport chain, proline oxidation, TCA cycle, acetate production, and ATP generation. Although mitochondrial metabolic rewiring has always been simply viewed as a consequence of the differentiation process, the possibility that certain mitochondrial activities reinforce parasite differentiation will be explored.

In vitro cultivation of Trypanosoma congolense bloodstream forms: State of the art and advances

Animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT or Nagana) is a severe vector-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the Trypanosomatidae family and is usually cyclically transmitted by blood-sucking tsetse flies. AAT remains a major problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Among the main AAT causative agents, Trypanosoma congolense (T. congolense or Tc) is one of the most important trypanosome species, in terms of economic and animal health impacts, infecting cattle and a wide range of animal hosts as well. To advance in AAT prevention and control, it is essential to better understand trypanosome biology and pathogenesis using bloodstream form (BSF) in vitro culture. The in vitro cultivation of T. congolense IL3000 BSF strain is already well established and widely used in research studies and drug activity assays. However, it may probably no longer truly reflect the reality of field trypanosome strains, due to decades of use and subsequent modifications. Here, we propose a novel culture protocol that supports the long-term in vitro growth of the animal-infective BSFs of three Savannah and Forest types of T. congolense strains, including T. congolense clone IL1180, which is not only a field strain but also a commonly-used reference strain in experimental animal assays. We established a homemade culture medium which made it possible to sustain T. congolense IL1180 growth from infected mouse blood for 18 days in axenic conditions. Moreover, we developed an efficient freezing/thawing system that allowed, for the first time, T. congolense IL1180 BSF growth within 30 days after thawing. Our results on T. congolense adaptation to in vitro culture are encouraging for future gene studies using new molecular tools or for new therapeutic drug assays.

Large-Scale Phylogenetic Analysis of Trypanosomatid Adenylate Cyclases Reveals Associations with Extracellular Lifestyle and Host-Pathogen Interplay

Receptor adenylate cyclases (RACs) on the surface of trypanosomatids are important players in the host–parasite interface. They detect still unidentified environmental signals that affect the parasites’ responses to host immune challenge, coordination of social motility, and regulation of cell division. A lesser known class of oxygen-sensing adenylate cyclases (OACs) related to RACs has been lost in trypanosomes and expanded mostly in Leishmania species and related insect-dwelling trypanosomatids. In this work, we have undertaken a large-scale phylogenetic analysis of both classes of adenylate cyclases (ACs) in trypanosomatids and the free-living Bodo saltans. We observe that the expanded RAC repertoire in trypanosomatids with a two-host life cycle is not only associated with an extracellular lifestyle within the vertebrate host, but also with a complex path through the insect vector involving several life cycle stages. In Trypanosoma brucei, RACs are split into two major clades, which significantly differ in their expression profiles in the mammalian host and the insect vector. RACs of the closely related Trypanosoma congolense are intermingled within these two clades, supporting early RAC diversification. Subspecies of T. brucei that have lost the capacity to infect insects exhibit high numbers of pseudogenized RACs, suggesting many of these proteins have become redundant upon the acquisition of a single-host life cycle. OACs appear to be an innovation occurring after the expansion of RACs in trypanosomatids. Endosymbiont-harboring trypanosomatids exhibit a diversification of OACs, whereas these proteins are pseudogenized in Leishmania subgenus Viannia. This analysis sheds light on how ACs have evolved to allow diverse trypanosomatids to occupy multifarious niches and assume various lifestyles.

Who Needs a Contractile Actomyosin Ring? The Plethora of Alternative Ways to Divide a Protozoan Parasite

Cytokinesis, or the division of the cytoplasm, following the end of mitosis or meiosis, is accomplished in animal cells, fungi, and amoebae, by the constriction of an actomyosin contractile ring, comprising filamentous actin, myosin II, and associated proteins. However, despite this being the best-studied mode of cytokinesis, it is restricted to the Opisthokonta and Amoebozoa, since members of other evolutionary supergroups lack myosin II and must, therefore, employ different mechanisms. In particular, parasitic protozoa, many of which cause significant morbidity and mortality in humans and animals as well as considerable economic losses, employ a wide diversity of mechanisms to divide, few, if any, of which involve myosin II. In some cases, cell division is not only myosin II-independent, but actin-independent too. Mechanisms employed range from primitive mechanical cell rupture (cytofission), to motility- and/or microtubule remodeling-dependent mechanisms, to budding involving the constriction of divergent contractile rings, to hijacking host cell division machinery, with some species able to utilize multiple mechanisms. Here, I review current knowledge of cytokinesis mechanisms and their molecular control in mammalian-infective parasitic protozoa from the Excavata, Alveolata, and Amoebozoa supergroups, highlighting their often-underappreciated diversity and complexity. Billions of people and animals across the world are at risk from these pathogens, for which vaccines and/or optimal treatments are often not available. Exploiting the divergent cell division machinery in these parasites may provide new avenues for the treatment of protozoal disease.

African trypanosomes

African trypanosomes cause human African trypanosomiasis and animal African trypanosomiasis. They are transmitted by tsetse flies in sub-Saharan Africa. Although most famous for their mechanisms of immune evasion by antigenic variation, there have been recent important studies that illuminate important aspects of the biology of these parasites both in their mammalian host and during passage through their tsetse fly vector. This Primer overviews current research themes focused on these parasites and discusses how these biological insights and the development of new technologies to interrogate gene function are being used in the search for new approaches to control the parasite. The new insights into the biology of trypanosomes in their host and vector highlight that we are in a ‘golden age’ of discovery for these fascinating parasites.

The composition and abundance of bacterial communities residing in the gut of Glossina palpalis palpalis captured in two sites of southern Cameroon

Background

A number of reports have demonstrated the role of insect bacterial flora on their host’s physiology and metabolism. The tsetse host and vector of trypanosomes responsible for human sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis, HAT) and nagana in animals (African animal trypanosomiasis, AAT) carry bacteria that influence its diet and immune processes. However, the mechanisms involved in these processes remain poorly documented. This underscores the need for increased research into the bacterial flora composition and structure of tsetse flies. The aim of this study was to identify the diversity and relative abundance of bacterial genera in Glossina palpalis palpalis flies collected in two trypanosomiasis foci in Cameroon.

Methods

Samples of G. p. palpalis which were either negative or naturally trypanosome-positive were collected in two foci located in southern Cameroon (Campo and Bipindi). Using the V3V4 and V4 variable regions of the small subunit of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, we analyzed the respective bacteriome of the flies’ midguts.

Results

We identified ten bacterial genera. In addition, we observed that the relative abundance of the obligate endosymbiont Wigglesworthia was highly prominent (around 99%), regardless of the analyzed region. The remaining genera represented approximately 1% of the bacterial flora, and were composed of Salmonella, Spiroplasma, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, Acidibacter, Tsukamurella, Serratia, Kluyvera and an unidentified bacterium. The genus Sodalis was present but with a very low abundance. Globally, no statistically significant difference was found between the bacterial compositions of flies from the two foci, and between positive and trypanosome-negative flies. However, Salmonella and Serratia were only described in trypanosome-negative flies, suggesting a potential role for these two bacteria in fly refractoriness to trypanosome infection. In addition, our study showed the V4 region of the small subunit of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was more efficient than the V3V4 region at describing the totality of the bacterial diversity.

Conclusions

A very large diversity of bacteria was identified with the discovering of species reported to secrete anti-parasitic compounds or to modulate vector competence in other insects. For future studies, the analyses should be enlarged with larger sampling including foci from several countries.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3402-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Transcriptional Profiling of Midguts Prepared from Trypanosoma/T. congolense-Positive Glossina palpalis palpalis Collected from Two Distinct Cameroonian Foci: Coordinated Signatures of the Midguts' Remodeling As T. congolense-Supportive Niches

Our previous transcriptomic analysis of Glossina palpalis gambiensis experimentally infected or not with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense aimed to detect differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with infection. Specifically, we selected candidate genes governing tsetse fly vector competence that could be used in the context of an anti-vector strategy, to control human and/or animal trypanosomiasis. The present study aimed to verify whether gene expression in field tsetse flies (G. p. palpalis) is modified in response to natural infection by trypanosomes (T. congolense), as reported when insectary-raised flies (G. p. gambiensis) are experimentally infected with T. b. gambiense. This was achieved using the RNA-seq approach, which identified 524 DEGs in infected vs. non-infected tsetse flies, including 285 downregulated genes and 239 upregulated genes (identified using DESeq2). Several of these genes were highly differentially expressed, with log2 fold change values in the vicinity of either +40 or −40. Downregulated genes were primarily involved in transcription/translation processes, whereas encoded upregulated genes governed amino acid and nucleotide biosynthesis pathways. The BioCyc metabolic pathways associated with infection also revealed that downregulated genes were mainly involved in fly immunity processes. Importantly, our study demonstrates that data on the molecular cross-talk between the host and the parasite (as well as the always present fly microbiome) recorded from an experimental biological model has a counterpart in field flies, which in turn validates the use of experimental host/parasite couples.