Kinetoplastida:Kinetoplastida: TrypansomaTrypansoma

Brian Kang

Taxonomy

Domain: EukaryotaPhylum: EuglenozoaClass: KinetoplastidaOrder: TrypanosomatidaeGenus: Trypanosoma

Key features

parasitic (blood, lymph and tissues) Small and heterotrophic large clump of DNA located at one end of the

unusually long mitochondrion (kinetoplast) Cause disease in many animals (including sleep

sickness)

Life Cycle

Morph into three forms during its life:

trypomastigote epimastigote amastigote

Three interesting facts

Post-transcriptional regulationAntigenic variation (changes its surface protein to

evade host immune response)

two life cycle forms of Trypanosoma brucei are easy to culture and are genetically pliable