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Malaria and trypanosome transmission: different parasites, same rules? - PubMed

Malaria and trypanosome transmission: different parasites, same rules?

Laura C Pollitt et al. Trends Parasitol. 2011 May.

Abstract

African trypanosomes produce different specialized stages for within-host replication and between-host transmission and therefore face a resource allocation trade-off between maintaining the current infection (survival) and investment into transmission (reproduction). Evolutionary theory predicts the resolution of this trade-off will significantly affect virulence and infectiousness. The application of life history theory to malaria parasites has provided novel insight into their strategies for survival and reproduction; how this framework can now be applied to trypanosomes is discussed. Specifically, predictions for how parasites trade-off investment in survival and transmission in response to variation in the within-host environment are outlined. An evolutionary approach has the power to explain why patterns of investment vary between strains and during infections, giving important insights into parasite biology.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Dynamics of trypanosome infection in the mammalian host. As slender form parasites replicate in the blood, the parasitaemia rises, as does the concentration of a soluble stumpy induction factor (SIF), inducing some parasites to differentiate into non-replicating, but transmissible, stumpy forms. A combination of differentiation into stumpy forms and clearance, as the immune system mounts a response to the first VSG coat, leads to a crash in parasitaemia. However, because some slender forms have switched VSG coats, a second wave of parasites, not yet recognized by the immune system, begins to increase parasitaemia once again.

Figure 2
Figure 2

Strategies for the relative investment into transmission stages. (a) Theory predicts that organisms will invest heavily in reproduction under either very good or exceptionally poor conditions, and be constrained to investing in survival in intermediate situations . When applied to trypanosomes, parasites are predicted to produce high numbers of transmissible stumpy forms in extremely good or extremely poor within-host environments, but, in most conditions be constrained to producing enough slender form parasites to maintain the current infection. As with malaria parasites, it is probable that there will be genetic variation between strains for the ability to accurately detect and respond to environmental cues, and the level of stress experienced in a given environment . (b) When parasites are in mixed infections, differing levels of investment into stumpy forms will influence competitive outcomes. Higher investment in transmission stages (high investment; red dashed line) gives short-term benefits (higher initial rate of transmission) but is detrimental to longer-term success because it is more vulnerable to being cleared. The optimal strategy depends on the duration of infection (chance of being cleared by the immune response or outcompeted and risk of host death) and transmission opportunities for the parasite. For example, in a prolonged mixed genotype infection of trypanosomes, the strain with low investment (blue solid line) has higher fitness because it can transmit for longer.

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