Establishment of molecular karyotype and synthetic associations in Trypanosoma rangeli, Trypanosoma conorhini and Trypanosoma Cruzi

• Grant number: 17/17144-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2017
• End date: October 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: José Franco da Silveira Filho
• Grantee: Sophia Costa Araujo
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/15000-4 - Trypanosoma cruzi: intra and interspecific genomic variability and mechanisms of cell invasion/egress, AP.TEM

Abstract

Trypanosoma rangeli and Trypanosoma cruzi are protozoan parasites of the family Trypanosomatidae, order Kinetoplastida and genus Trypanosoma that infect humans. Unlike T. rangeli, T. cruzi is pathogenic for humans causing Chagas disease that affects more than 8 million people in Latin America, including the United States. The comparison between T. cruzi and T. rangeli could elucidate mechanisms that determine the ability of T. cruzi to invade and multiply in mammalian cells. Phylogenetic studies indicate the proximity between these species and the divergence from a common ancestor, and that T. rangeli and T. conorhini, another member of the clade T. cruzi, are closer to each other when compared to T. cruzi. The comparison between karyotypes of nearby species is an interesting strategy to identify intra- and interspecific chromosomal variations involved in the speciation process. To understand the chromosome evolution in the T. cruzi clade, it would be interesting to extend the synthetic analysis to other isolates of T. rangeli and T. conorhini. In this project we intend to define the karyotypes of T. rangeli isolates and to investigate the syntenic relationships with T. cruzi (CL Brener clone) by hybridization of the chromosomal bands separated by pulsed field electrophoresis (PFGE) with chromosome-specific markers belonging to defined syntenic groups of T. cruzi. (AU)