Morphology of Trypanosoma gambiense | Diagram

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The basic morphology of Trypanosoma gambiense is that of a single-celled organism, known as a protozoan. It has a characteristic elongated, cigar-shaped body, with a distinct anterior and posterior end. The body is surrounded by a plasma membrane, which encloses the cytoplasm and organelles. In this article, we will learn the morphology of Trypanosoma gambiense. 

Morphology of Trypanosoma gambiense

 

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1. Shape and Size

• • • Trypanosoma gambiense is unicellular, microscopic, elongated, leaf-like, flattened, and tapering at both sides.
    • Its length is about 10-40µ and its width is about 2.5-10µ.
    • The anterior end is pointed and the posterior end is blunt.
    • It is a polymorphic species and occurs in two developmental forms, the trypanosome form, and the crithidial form.
    • In the bloodstream of man, the trypanosome form may be long slender or short stumpy, or intermediate between the two.
    • In the tsetse fly, the trypanosome form is long and slender in the midgut, and short and stumpy in the salivary gland.
    • The crithidial form is represented only in the salivary glands of the tsetse fly.

2. Pellicle

• • • The whole body is surrounded externally by pellicle.
    • The pellicle is a thin and elastic covering.
    • It is supported by the fine fibrils, called microtubules.
    • Microtubules may help to maintain the shape of the organism while it swims in the blood plasma.

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3. Flagellum

• • • Trypanosoma gambiense is uniflagellate as it has a single flagellum.
    • The flagellum arises from the posterior part of the body.
    • It runs forward, attached along the entire length of the body, and becomes free at the anterior end of the body.
    • When the trypanosome moves in blood, the undulating waves pass from the tip to the base of the flagellum.

4. Undulating Membrane

• • • When the flagellum beats, the pellicle, to which it is attached, is pulled up into a membranous fold called the undulating membrane.
    • It may be an adaptation for locomotion in fluid like blood.

5. Cytoplasm

• • • The cytoplasm is enclosed within the pellicle. 
    • The cytoplasm is not differentiated into ectoplasm and endoplasm.
    • An elongated mitochondrion with tubular cristae is present in the cytoplasm.
    • Just near the basal body of the flagellum (at the posterior end of the body), the mitochondrion forms a disk-like structure called the parabasal body or kinetoplast.
    • The kinetoplast includes a double-stranded DNA helix.
    • A Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, and ribosome are present in the cytoplasm.
    • The cytoplasm also contains numerous greenish granules called voluntin granules. These are supposed to be stored food particles.
    • Various small vacuoles are also seen in the cytoplasm, some with hydrolytic enzymes.

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6. Nucleus

• • • The nucleus is present within the cytoplasm.
    • The nucleus is large, oval, and vesicular.
    • The nuclear membrane is a double-unit membrane and bears pores.
    • The nucleolus is present at the center of the nucleus and surrounded by a clear space.
    • Numerous chromosomes are present within the nucleoplasm.

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Read More:

1. African Sleeping Sickness or Trypanosomiasis: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention
2. Life Cycle of Trypanosoma gambiense | Diagram
3. General Characters of All Phylum of The Invertebrates.

Reference:

1. “Modern Textbook of Zoology Invertebrates” written by R. L. Kotpal.
2. CDC – African Trypanosomiasis – Biology

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