Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Opin Microbiol. 2011 Oct 21;14(6):642–648. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2011.09.012

Figure 1. Cell-cell communication benefits T. brucei.

Figure 1

Parasite-parasite communication (chart on left) via cell density-dependent signaling controls T. brucei differentiation from proliferating forms that are adapted for survival in the bloodstream to growth-arrested, transmission competent forms that are adapted for survival in the tsetse vector. By linking differentiation to population density, the parasite avoids depletion of host nutrients and prevents premature commitment to a developmental form that is not optimized for survival in the mammalian host. Without density-dependent cell-cell communication (chart on right), continued parasite proliferation would deplete host resources and thus reduce chances for transmission.