布氏锥虫及其亚种(布氏锥虫冈比亚亚种和布氏锥虫罗得西亚亚种)是非洲人睡眠病和动物锥虫病的病原体，是WHO和OIE致力要在全球控制的重要人畜共患热带病病原体之一，也是国际学术界研究宿主与寄生原虫的重要模式物种。布氏锥虫在人体和哺乳动物体内的分化和发育是其成功传播的关键，但其分化发育的机理至今仍存在极大的争议。越来越多的研究表明，非编码小RNA在真核生物的分化发育中具有重要的生物学功能。本项目将利用大规模高通量技术测序布氏锥虫的非编码小RNA，建立小RNA数据库，寻找新型来源或功能的非编码小RNA，研究其与锥虫分化发育相关的基因功能及其调控网络，拟阐明锥虫分化过程的调控机理。研究结果将为揭示非编码小RNA与锥虫的分化发育关系提供确切的分子证据，并为研究新型的抗锥虫药，以及研究其它真核生物非编码小RNA的起源与进化提供重要参考。

Trypanosoma brucei and its subspecies T.gambiense and T. rhodesiense are the pathogens of African human sleeping sickness and animal Nagana diseases. These pathogens not only are the important zoonoses recognized by WHO and OIE, but also are good model to understand the relationship between host and parasitic protozoan. The development and differentiation of T. brucei in domestic and wild mammalian hosts as well as in humans are the key steps for successful tranmission between mammalian host and blood sucking insect vector. However, the mechanims of these differentiation and development are still far to understand. More and more evidence demonstrated that non-coding small RNAs play critical biological function in the development and differentiation of eukaryotes. This project will be focued on using high-throughput sequencing technology to obtain the non-coding small RNAs of T. brucei and to identify the novel sources and function of non-coding RNAs and to understand their gene function related with the differentiation and regulation networks as well as the mechanism. Results from this project will not only provide strong molecular data to know the relationship between non-coding small RNAs and development /differenctiation of T. brucei, but also provide important data to understand the evolution of non-coding small RNAs in eukaryotes and to search novel coumpouds against African trypanosomosis caused by T. brucei and its subspecies.