Mechanisms by which African trypanosomes sense and respond to iron availability in the mammalian host

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Living organisms have the ability to sense changes in their environment and adapt their gene expression to ensure their survival. The acquisition of nutrients from their environment is particularly important for unicellular organisms, especially for unicellular parasites that must acquire nutrients from their host. Iron is an essential element for the growth of all forms of life, and mammals tightly control the availability of iron to prevent the growth of invasive organisms by binding iron to a protein called transferrin. The African trypanosomes are unicellular parasites that are transmitted by the bite of an infected tsetse fly in sub-Saharan Africa, and causes a disease in farm animals and humans. The parasite is able to fulfil its requirement for iron by expressing a protein that recognises and uptakes transferrin from its host, and importantly is able to rapidly increase the amount of this protein in response to iron starvation. The way the parasite is able to do this is not clear, but we do know that it is different to the mechanism used by mammals. This project will investigate the way in which the parasite is able to sense and respond to iron starvation using a combination of experimental techniques that use parasite cells grown in flasks. Studying this mechanism is important as it will help us to understand how these parasites sense and adapt to their host environments, knowledge that will help in the fight against the diseases they cause. Improved fundamental understanding of these mechanisms is also important for our understanding of metabolic diseases and cancers where disregulation occurs.