Fig 7. Metabolic adjustments of trypanosomes growing on glycerol.

(A) Profiles of fumarate, malate, aspartate and succinate as detected by LC-MS metabolomics. Samples and visualization as in Fig 4B. (B) Proportion of these metabolites with two ¹³C labelled carbons in WT and THT1/THT2 RNAi cells, * p < 0.001. (C) Proportion of these metabolites with three ¹³C labelled carbons in WT and THT1/THT2 RNAi cells, * p < 0.001. (D) Scheme indicating potential explanation for the labelling patterns observed. The ¹³C₂ part may be produced by the TCA cycle activity fed by ¹³C₂ labelled acetyl-CoA, advantageous for additional ATP production. The ¹³C₃ part could be produced in the glycosomal succinate shunt, which is activated in order to maintain the NAD⁺/NADH balance inside the organelle.