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.
Highlights
African trypanosomes produce different specialized stages for within-host replication and between-host transmission and face a resource allocation trade-off between maintaining the current infection and investment into transmission
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The application of life history theory to malaria parasites has provided novel insight into their strategies for survival and reproduction; how this framework can be applied to trypanosomes is discussed
Summary
African trypanosomes produce different specialized stages for within-host replication and between-host transmission and face a resource allocation trade-off between maintaining the current infection (survival) and investment into transmission (reproduction). Protozoan parasites: life history trade-offs Protozoan parasites, such as African trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei sp.) and malaria parasites (Plasmodium sp.), cause serious mortality and morbidity in humans, livestock and wildlife and have severe economic impacts in the developing world These parasites undergo asexual replication within a vertebrate host and must produce specialized transmission stages to be transmitted between hosts by insect vectors. This process, known as adaptive phenotypic plasticity, is central to understanding the effects of environmental variation on evolution and can be broadly defined as a change in the phenotype of a given genotype in response to environmental cues [48] This enables organisms to respond rapidly to predictable environmental changes in ways that maximize fitness [32]. In natural infections, parasitaemia will be shaped by a combination of the host immune response [()TD$FIG]
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