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Paraflagellar rod is vital for trypanosome motility

Nature volume 391, page 548 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

African trypanosomes are protozoan parasites that cause sleeping sickness in man. In addition to the axoneme, their flagellum contains a large structure called the paraflagellar rod (PFR) whose function is unknown. We used an antisense RNA approach to produce a specific molecular ablation of the PFR structure. The mutant cells are paralysed, demonstrating that the PFR has an essential role in cell motility.

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Figure 1: PFR-A expression is switched off in the snl-1 cell line.
Figure 2: Morphological analysis of wild-type (a-c) and snl-1 cells (d-f).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, 2.205 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK

    Philippe Bastin, Trevor Sherwin & Keith Gull

Authors
  1. Philippe Bastin
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  2. Trevor Sherwin
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  3. Keith Gull
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Bastin, P., Sherwin, T. & Gull, K. Paraflagellar rod is vital for trypanosome motility. Nature 391, 548 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/35300

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