Effect of very low concentrations (< 10 μM) of glucose on T. brucei gene expression

The ability to adapt to varying nutrient availability in changing environments is critical for successful parasitism. The lifecycle stages of the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, that infect the host mammalian bloodstream utilize glucose exclusively for ATP production. The finding that trypanosomes also inhabit other tissues that frequently contain lower glucose concentrations suggests blood stage parasites may have to respond to a dynamic environment with changing nutrient availability in order to survive. However, little is known about how the parasites coordinate gene expression with nutrient availability. Through transcriptome analysis, we have found blood stage parasites deprived of glucose alter gene expression in a pattern similar to transcriptome changes triggered by other stresses. A surprisingly low concentration of glucose (<10 μM) was required to initiate the response. To further understand the dynamic regulation of gene expression that occurs in response to altered glucose availability in the environment, we have interrogated the 3’UTR of cytochrome c oxidase subunit VI, a known lifecycle stage regulated gene, and have identified a stem-loop structure that confers glucose-responsive regulation at the translational level. Six samples types, with 2-3 replicates each, which consist of 2 forms of T. brucei parasites (long slender and bloodstream) in varying concentrations of glucose at 0hrs and 12hrs. Three samples (LS_+glc replicates) were previously submitted in BioProject PRJNA438967 and SRA Study accession SRP142743. All 17 samples are included in BioProject PRJNA454021. All LS_-glc and BF* samples are in SRA Study accession SRP145483.