Other huge collaborative effort out too- T brucei VSG diversity in chronic cattle infections Led by Steve Larcombe and @keithrmatthews.bsky.social, with @goldrieve.bsky.social, @scotomorph.bsky.social, @rmc9z.bsky.social, Liam Morrison @roslininstitute.bsky.social etc www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Restricted expression site use and extreme genome diversification drives trypanosome antigenic variation in chronic bovine infections

Trypanosoma brucei exploits an extreme form of antigenic variation to escape the mammalian immune response. This involves the progressive expression of antigenically distinct variant surface glycoprot...

biorxiv.org

Out now on biorxiv ... again T congolense VSG control ≠ T brucei. So much work by @scotomorph.bsky.social @marquescata.bsky.social @rmc9z.bsky.social @keithrmatthews.bsky.social Liam Morrison @roslininstitute.bsky.social and all our other fantastic collaborators www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Trypanosoma congolense Variant Surface Glycoprotein gene expression occurs in the absence of monoallelic transcription control

Antigenic variation is a very widespread process for pathogen evasion of mammalian adaptive immunity, involving the continuous change of exposed antigens. In many single-celled pathogens, antigen expr...

biorxiv.org

Trypanosoma congolense Variant Surface Glycoprotein gene expression occurs in the absence of monoallelic transcription control https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.31.741978v1

Restricted expression site use and extreme genome diversification drives trypanosome antigenic variation in chronic bovine infections https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.31.741217v1

Trypanosoma congolense Variant Surface Glycoprotein gene expression occurs in the absence of monoallelic transcription control #SingleCell 🧪🧬🖥️ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.31.741978v1

Genome-wide mapping of DNA G-quadruplexes in Trypanosoma brucei chromatin reveals enrichment in coding regions and transcription start sites pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42376815/

(1/7) How does T. brucei achieve a 140-fold stoichiometric excess of VSG mRNA over upstream ESAGs from a single polycistronic unit? Our latest research in @natmicrobiol.nature.com reveals a mechanism of spatially regulated RNA decay to fine-tune expression of virulence genes

Restricted expression site use and extreme genome diversification drives trypanosome antigenic variation in chronic bovine infections bioRxivpreprint

Restricted expression site use and extreme genome diversification drives trypanosome antigenic variation in chronic bovine infections

Trypanosoma brucei exploits an extreme form of antigenic variation to escape the mammalian immune response. This involves the progressive expression of antigenically distinct variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs) on the surface of individual parasites in the population, generating waves of parasitaemia that are successively cleared by host antibodies. Current paradigms were established using in vitro studies and acute rodent infections characterized by high parasitaemia, but natural livestock infections are characterized by low parasitaemia and chronicity. Here, we analysed the infection dynamics of isogenic parasites in mice and cattle in blood during early and chronic infections, quantitating VSG expression diversity within and between hosts, antigen type persistence in vivo and their timing of appearance. This revealed enhanced antigenic diversity in cattle but with a surprisingly reproducible temporal expression hierarchy of related VSGs between independent chronic infections. Analyses demonstrated the unexpected dominance of a single telomeric VSG expression site irrespective of host species and time of infection. Detailed prediction of mosaic VSG assembly reveals exceptional parasite genome diversification within infections involving extensive macro and micro-homology-based recombination to evolve the antigen repertoire. This diversity was restricted but not eliminated in homologous recombination mutants, which could nonetheless sustain chronic infections in mice. These data provide the first comprehensive insight into trypanosome antigenic variation in the clinically-relevant host.

dlvr.it

New work on T. brucei antigenic variation in cows and homologous recombination mutants, great collaboration with @keithrmatthews.bsky.social Liam Morrison and others. Big effort by Steve Larcombe @janemunday.bsky.social @goldrieve.bsky.social @scotomorph.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Restricted expression site use and extreme genome diversification drives trypanosome antigenic variation in chronic bovine infections

Trypanosoma brucei exploits an extreme form of antigenic variation to escape the mammalian immune response. This involves the progressive expression of antigenically distinct variant surface glycoprot...

biorxiv.org

New preprint, revealing contrasting means of VSG expression in two African trypanosomes; great collaboration with @keithrmatthews.bsky.social Liam Morrison and other valued colleagues @janemunday.bsky.social @scotomorph.bsky.social @marquescata.bsky.social tinyurl.com/3n8b9pwv

Trypanosoma congolense Variant Surface Glycoprotein gene expression occurs in the absence of monoallelic transcription control

Antigenic variation is a very widespread process for pathogen evasion of mammalian adaptive immunity, involving the continuous change of exposed antigens. In many single-celled pathogens, antigen expr...

tinyurl.com

Trypanosoma congolense Variant Surface Glycoprotein gene expression occurs in the absence of monoallelic transcription control www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.31.741978v1

Restricted expression site use and extreme genome diversification drives trypanosome antigenic variation in chronic bovine infections www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.31.741217v1

Registration & abstract submission are open for the 37th Molecular Parasitology Meeting (MPM XXXVII) 🧫 @MJGubbels @Deepali_Ravel @omartheharb Sept 13–17, 2026 | Woods Hole, MA + virtual Abstract deadline: June 19 @rmc9z.bsky.social @mjgubbels.bsky.social @omarharb.org parasitesrule.com/mpm-xxxvii

Registration and abstract submission are now open for the 2026 Kinetoplastid Molecular Cell Biology Meeting (KMCB). @rmc9z.bsky.social @omarharb.org 🗓 September 8–12, 2026 ⏰Abstract deadline June 22 Submit your abstract and register at parasitesrule.com/kmcb #KMCB #Parasitology #Kinetoplastids

Very happy to have contributed some confirmatory experiments to Jaclyn Smith and Monica Mugnier's excellent paper - out now @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41... @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @rmc9z.bsky.social

Our Spring meeting starts today in Glasgow! All the best to all those presenting @bspparasitology.bsky.social

We are pleased to share a pre-print of collaborative work @scotomorph.bsky.social @janemunday.bsky.social @keithrmatthews.bsky.social @goldrieve.bsky.social describing the genome of Trypanosoma congolense and the organisation of VSG genes for immune evasion www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

MPM 2026 will run from September 13-17 in Woods Hole, and applications are invited for LMIC travel awards. Have a go!

ParasitesRule@parasitesrule.org · 6mo ago

🌍 Calling parasitologists from LMICs! Apply for the MPM XXXVII LMIC Travel Award to attend the Molecular Parasitology Meeting in Woods Hole, MA (September 13–17, 2026). Awards include full registration, travel, and accommodation. 🗓️ Deadline: March 1, 2026 🔗 www.parasitesrule.com/mpm-xxxvii/t...

🌍 Calling parasitologists from LMICs! Apply for the MPM XXXVII LMIC Travel Award to attend the Molecular Parasitology Meeting in Woods Hole, MA (September 13–17, 2026). Awards include full registration, travel, and accommodation. 🗓️ Deadline: March 1, 2026 🔗 www.parasitesrule.com/mpm-xxxvii/t...

Travelaward2026

MPM LMIC award details

parasitesrule.com

I am trilled to share my latest publication where we contribute to the knowledge of how ATR kinase, a DNA damage response factor, modulates DNA replication timing during stress in Leishmania major. Huge thanks to @rmc9z.bsky.social, @LuizTosi and the collaborators for the support and guidance!

ATR, a DNA damage kinase, modulates DNA replication timing in Leishmania major

Author summary A series of protein kinases act at the pinnacle of eukaryotic cells’ DNA damage response, organising and guiding repair. One such kinase is ATR, which recognises single-stranded DNA for...

dx.plos.org

Coming up: Postdoctoral fellowship mini-workshop as a part of the SPPIRIT Forum series. EMBO, Marie Curie, and Wellcome Early Career fellows will share their advice on fellowship applications. Join us at 12 noon on Thursday 14th November! Register at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

We have a PhD position in population genomics of sheep scab mites available from October 2026. The project will investigate Psoroptes populations in the context of eradication programs on Scottish island groups and spreading drug resistance. www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

I'm also co-supervising a few other projects: #1: an inter-disciplinary project on chemical biology of Base-J in kinetoplastids, led by Glenn Burley @Strathclyde. We aim to develop some new chemical approaches and apply them to study kinetoplastid genetics. www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

#2 - a project taking a comparative approach to DNA replication and plasticity/mutation in kinetoplastids, expanding work form the 'model' parasites to other kinetoplastid lineages, with Richard McCulloch and Sarah Allinson in Lancaster: www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

Our lab has two funded PhDs to start in 2026 via the NorthWestBio programme Project details here www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate... ...and here www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate... Application deadline is Nov 21st 2025; apply here: www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

🔬Fascinated by the unique mitochondrial biology that keeps deadly parasites alive? 🥼We have a fully funded NorthWestBio PhD just for you‼️ 🌎 @blslancasteruni.bsky.social 📍Co-supervisor Kostas Tokatlidis @uofglasgow.bsky.social ⏰Deadline 21st Nov 📮Info and to apply👇 www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...

Happy to share our latest preprint, where we present a novel high-throughput #single-cell DNA method that resolves genomic heterogeneity in #Leishmania, from #aneuploidy, #CNVs to #drug-resistance mutations. 🧵... Link here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

📆 | Save the Date! The @bspparasitology.bsky.social Spring Meeting 2026 is coming to @uofglasgow.bsky.social. Running from 7-9 April, there will be 15 sessions, 5 workshops, a ceilidh, a dinner - and a welcome reception at Glasgow City Chambers. 🔗 More info soon at bsp.uk.net/Events

@scotomorph.bsky.social @uofgsii.bsky.social presenting new insights into Trypanosoma congolense at #Eukaryotes25 @microbiologysociety.org

@marquescata.bsky.social @uofgsii.bsky.social presenting new findings on stable polyploid Trypanosoma brucei at @microbiologysociety.org #Eukaryotes25