title: Transformation of monomorphic and pleomorphic Trypanosoma brucei.
abstract: African trypanosomes, such as Trypanosoma brucei, are protozoan parasites of mammals that were first described over 100 hundred years ago. They have long been the subjects of biological investigation, which has yielded insights into a number of fundamental, as well as novel, cellular processes in all organisms. In the last decade or so, genetic manipulation of trypanosomes has become possible through DNA transformation, allowing yet more detailed analysis of the biology of the parasite. One facet of this is that DNA transformation has itself been used as an assay for recombination and will undoubtedly lead to further genetic approaches to examine this process. Here we describe protocols for DNA transformation of Trypanosoma brucei, including two different life cycle stages and two different strain types that are distinguished by morphological and developmental criteria. We consider the application of transformation to recombination, as well as the uses of transforming the different life cycle stages and strain types.
authors.affiliation: Welcome Centre for Molecular Parasitology, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vassella
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boshart
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Barry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D008322:Mammals / Q000469:parasitology; D008957:Models, Genetic; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014170:Transformation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan