Papers in the Biological Sciences
Date of this Version
10-1980
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that several species of Trypanosomatidae can be grown as discrete and, in some cases clonal, colonies on blood agar plates, and that species differ in colony phenotype (Noeller, 1917, Arch. Schiffs Trop. Hyg. 21: 5-94; Senekjie, 1944, J. Parasitol. 30: 303-308; Newton, 1956, Nature 177: 279-280; Keppel and Janovy, 1977, J. Parasitol. 63: 879-882). None of these previous studies, however, has addressed the following question: Does the life cycle stage used to initiate agar plate culture affect colony phenotype? The question also can be phrased as follows: Does passage through a vertebrate host alter agar plate colony phenotype? Ultimately, this question must be answered if agar plate colony phenotypes are ever to be used as identification tools in the Trypanosomatidae in a manner similar to that used so successfully for so many years with bacteria and fungi. The present study was intended to address the above question using as parasite material the 2S strain of Leishmania donovani.
Comments
Published in the Journal of Parasitology (October 1980) 66(5): 849-851. Copyright 1980, the American Society of Parasitologists. Used by permission.