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Dynamics of gamete production and mating in the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei

Overview of attention for article published in Parasites & Vectors, July 2016
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  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (73rd percentile)
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (79th percentile)

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Title
Dynamics of gamete production and mating in the parasitic protist Trypanosoma brucei
Published in
Parasites & Vectors, July 2016
DOI 10.1186/s13071-016-1689-9
Pubmed ID
Authors

Lori Peacock, Mick Bailey, Wendy Gibson

Abstract

Sexual reproduction in Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei occurs in the insect vector and is important in generating hybrid strains with different combinations of parental characteristics. Production of hybrid parasite genotypes depends on the likelihood of co-infection of the vector with multiple strains. In mosquitoes, existing infection with Plasmodium facilitates the establishment of a second infection, although the asynchronicity of gamete production subsequently prevents mating. In the trypanosome/tsetse system, flies become increasingly refractory to infection as they age, so the likelihood of a fly acquiring a second infection also decreases. This effectively restricts opportunities for trypanosome mating to co-infections picked up by the fly on its first feed, unless an existing infection increases the chance of successful second infection as in the Plasmodium/mosquito system. Using green and red fluorescent trypanosomes, we compared the rates of trypanosome infection and hybrid production in flies co-infected on the first feed, co-infected on a subsequent feed 18 days after emergence, or fed sequentially with each trypanosome clone 18 days apart. Infection rates were highest in the midguts and salivary glands (SG) of flies that received both trypanosome clones in their first feed, and were halved when the infected feed was delayed to day 18. In flies fed the two trypanosome clones sequentially, the second clone often failed to establish a midgut infection and consequently was not present in the SG. Nevertheless, hybrids were recovered from all three groups of infected flies. Meiotic stages and gametes were produced continuously from day 11 to 42 after the infective feed, and in sequentially infected flies, the co-occurrence of gametes led to hybrid formation. We found that a second trypanosome strain can establish infection in the tsetse SG 18 days after the first infected feed, with co-mingling of gametes and production of trypanosome hybrids. Establishment of the second strain was severely compromised by the strong immune response of the fly to the existing infection. Although sequential infection provides an opportunity for trypanosome mating, the easiest way for a tsetse fly to acquire a mixed infection is by feeding on a co-infected host.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 36 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 36 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 8 22%
Student > Ph. D. Student 7 19%
Researcher 6 17%
Student > Master 4 11%
Professor 2 6%
Other 2 6%
Unknown 7 19%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 11 31%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 9 25%
Computer Science 2 6%
Immunology and Microbiology 2 6%
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 1 3%
Other 2 6%
Unknown 9 25%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 February 2022.
All research outputs
#5,626,118
of 23,098,660 outputs
Outputs from Parasites & Vectors
#1,159
of 5,522 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#95,177
of 364,739 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Parasites & Vectors
#32
of 148 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,098,660 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 75th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,522 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.7. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 364,739 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 148 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 79% of its contemporaries.