Title: Recruitment of IFT proteins during flagellum construction in Trypanosoma brucei
Abstract: Trypanosoma brucei is a protozoan parasite responsible for sleeping sickness in Central Africa. It is transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. During its complex life cycle, it undergoes significant morphological changes including extensive variations in flagellum length (3 to 30 µm). The flagellum is an essential organelle for parasite survival as it is involved in morphogenesis, movement, division and adhesion of the trypanosome. Intraflagellar transport (IFT) refers to the movement of protein complexes between the membrane and the microtubules. Like in other eukaryotes, IFT is essential for the construction of the trypanosome flagellum. Studies in the green alga Chlamydomonas suggested that the total amount of IFT proteins injected in the flagellum defines its final length: the higher the amount, the longer the flagellum. Moreover, the total amount of IFT proteins would be injected at once.