ArticlePLoS pathogens2021
The establishment of variant surface glycoprotein monoallelic expression revealed by single-cell RNA-seq of Trypanosoma brucei in the tsetse fly salivary glands.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- The exception that proves the rule: Virulence gene expression at the onset of Plasmodium falciparum blood stage infections.PLoS pathogens · 2023Trial
- De Novo Assembly of the Trypanosoma congolense Genome Reveals an Organization Influenced by Antigenic Variation but Distinct from Trypanosoma brucei.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- High-resolution single-cell sequencing of trans-spliced mRNA.Nature protocols · 2026Review
- Single-cell RNA-seq reveals trans-sialidase-like superfamily gene expression heterogeneity ineLife · 2026Article
- A factor integrating transcription and repression of surface antigen genes in African trypanosomes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Pathogenic Significance of Trypanosomatids: Progress in Drug Resistance, Control Strategies, and Artificial Intelligence.Interdisciplinary perspectives on infectious diseases · 2026Review
- A non-coding role for trypanosome VSG transcripts in allelic exclusion.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Next generation genetic screens in kinetoplastids.Nucleic acids research · 2025Review
- scRNA-seq reveals transcriptional plasticity of var gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum for host immune avoidance.Nature microbiology · 2025Article
- Cell motility influences microfluidics capturing in scRNA-seq.Open research Europe · 2025Article
- Single-cell atlas ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Article
- Advances in the Immunology of the Host-Parasite Interactions in African Trypanosomosis, including Single-Cell Transcriptomics.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- An allele-selective inter-chromosomal protein bridge supports monogenic antigen expression in the African trypanosome.Nature communications · 2023Article
- A sticky situation: When trypanosomatids attach to insect tissues.PLoS pathogens · 2023Review
- Vector-borne Trypanosoma brucei parasites develop in artificial human skin and persist as skin tissue forms.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Decoding the impact of nuclear organization on antigenic variation in parasites.Nature microbiology · 2023Review
- A Frame-by-Frame Glance at Membrane Fusion Mechanisms: From Viral Infections to Fertilization.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Competition among variants is predictable and contributes to the antigenic variation dynamics of African trypanosomes.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Chemical Inhibition of Bromodomain Proteins in Insect-Stage African Trypanosomes Perturbs Silencing of the Variant Surface Glycoprotein Repertoire and Results in Widespread Changes in the Transcriptome.Microbiology spectrum · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The long and complex Trypanosoma brucei development in the tsetse fly vector culminates when parasites gain mammalian infectivity in the salivary glands. A key step in this process is the establishment of monoallelic variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) expression and the formation of the VSG coat. The establishment of VSG monoallelic expression is complex and poorly understood, due to the multiple parasite stages present in the salivary glands. Therefore, we sought to further our understanding of this phenomenon by performing single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) on these trypanosome populations. We were able to capture the developmental program of trypanosomes in the salivary glands, identifying populations of epimastigote, gamete, pre-metacyclic and metacyclic cells. Our results show that parasite metabolism is dramatically remodeled during development in the salivary glands, with a shift in transcript abundance from tricarboxylic acid metabolism to glycolytic metabolism. Analysis of VSG gene expression in pre-metacyclic and metacyclic cells revealed a dynamic VSG gene activation program. Strikingly, we found that pre-metacyclic cells contain transcripts from multiple VSG genes, which resolves to singular VSG gene expression in mature metacyclic cells. Single molecule RNA fluorescence in situ hybridisation (smRNA-FISH) of VSG gene expression following in vitro metacyclogenesis confirmed this finding. Our data demonstrate that multiple VSG genes are transcribed before a single gene is chosen. We propose a transcriptional race model governs the initiation of monoallelic expression.
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