title: Stable transformation of pleomorphic bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei.
abstract: African trypanosomes differentiate between various developmental stages both in mammalian hosts and their tsetse vector to adapt to and survive in the different environments they encounter. In the bloodstream, trypanosomes naturally exist as either proliferative slender-forms or non-proliferative stumpy-forms, the latter being responsible for both prolonged infection and transmission. However, most trypanosome studies are carried out on laboratory-adapted monomorphic cell lines, incapable of differentiating to stumpy-forms or completing the life cycle through the tsetse fly. Partly, this has been due to the inefficiency of transfection of pleomorphic strains which have retained the ability to generate stumpy-forms. Recently, Amaxa Nucleofector® technology was shown to increase transfection efficiency for monomorphic bloodstream forms. Using this technology we have optimised a similar method for pleomorphic bloodstream form transfection, generating transfection efficiencies of 10(-7)-10(-6). This permits routine genetic manipulation of pleomorphic lines, which have the most biological relevance for trypanosomes in the field.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, Ashworth Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: MacGregor
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Keith R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D042822:Genomic Instability; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*; D014170:Transformation, Genetic; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: Pleomorphic; Stumpy; Transfection; Trypanosoma brucei; Trypanosome