Programmed cell death in procyclic form Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense - Identification of differentially expressed genes during Con A induced death

Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense can be induced to undergo apoptosis after st imulation with Con A. As cell death in these parasites is associated with d e novo gene expression we have applied a differential display technique, Ra ndomly Amplified Differential Expressed Sequence-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RADES-PCR) to the study of gene Expression during Con A induced cell death in these organisms. Twenty-two differentially, displayed products have bee n cloned and sequenced. These represent the first endogenous genes to be id entified as implicated in cellular death in trypanosomatids (the most primi tive eukaryote in which apoptosis has been described). Evidence for an ance stral death machinery, 'proto-apoptosis' in single celled organisms is disc ussed.