The Cellular Organization of Trypanosomatids During Life Cycle

Trypanosoma cruzi , Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania spp. are etiological agents of the following neglected diseases: African sleeping sickness (T. brucei ), Chagas’ disease (T. cruzi ) and leishmaniasis (Leishmania spp.). These parasites are eukaryotic cells that diverged early in evolution and therefore harbor modified organelles, such as glycosomes, and present subcellular compartments with unusual characteristics. This chapter aims to overview the most striking features of the structures and functions of these organelles, which ensure the existence of these parasites, and to discuss the differences between species and between the distinct life cycle forms of each organism.

Keywords: Acidocalcisomes, Cellular compartmentalization, Endoplasmic reticulum, Flagellum, Glycosomes, Golgi, Kinetoplast, Nucleolus, Nucleus, Reservosomes.