title: Environmental sensing by African trypanosomes.
abstract: African trypanosomes, which divide their life cycle between mammals and tsetse flies, are confronted with environments that differ widely in temperature, nutrient availability and host responses to infection. In particular, since trypanosomes cannot predict when they will be transmitted between hosts, it is vital for them to be able to sense and adapt to their milieu. Thanks to technical advances, significant progress has been made in understanding how the parasites perceive external stimuli and react to them. There is also a growing awareness that trypanosomes use a variety of mechanisms to exchange information with each other, thereby enhancing their chances of survival.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: isabel.roditi@izb.unibe.ch.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Roditi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schumann
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Arunasalam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naguleswaran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004777:Environment; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D008322:Mammals / Q000469:parasitology*; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000502:physiology; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014347:Trypanosoma brucei gambiense / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D016833:Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000469:parasitology; D014370:Tsetse Flies / Q000469:parasitology*