Practice question

Trypanosoma genus encompassing Trypanosoma brucei causing African sleeping sickness and Trypanosoma cruzi causing Chagas disease represents parasitic kinetoplastid flagellates within class Kinetoplastea of Excavata. Cells possess single emergent flagellum originating from flagellar pocket near posterior kinetoplast, attached to cell body via undulating membrane generating propulsive waves. Life cycles involve insect vectors tsetse flies and triatomine bugs with antigenic variation. Unlike euglenoids bearing photoreceptive stigma and chloroplasts in some species, trypanosomes are strictly heterotrophic blood parasites exhibiting unique mitochondrial RNA editing and polycistronic transcription.