Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 September 2011
The factors effecting establishment of salivarian trypanosomes in Glossina (tsetse flies) are reviewed. Recent observations on host–parasite relationships are outlined in the trypanosome-Glossma system. These include, in Trypanozoon, the penetration of the peritrophic membrane; the infection of the midgut cells; the finding of cyst-like multinucleate forms in midgut cells; and the observations on haemocoelic stages in laboratory and field studies. The implications of haemocoelic infection are discussed in relation to work on other Trypanosomatidae in insects and the importance of studies on the possible immune mechanisms of tsetse are outlined.
The interaction between trypanosome parasites and the surfaces of Glossina are briefly reviewed. Recent studies on the relationship between salivarian trypanosomes and LC1 and LC2 mechanoreceptors in the labrum are presented, which indicate that trypanosomes could impair receptor activity in different ways which would result in increased probing. The epidemiological and epizootological implications of these suggestions are outlined. The relevance and importance of trypanosome infection rates in Glossina are discussed.