Serum factors and the maturation ofTrypanosoma congolense infections inGlossina morsitans

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Abstract
Removal of certain components from pig or cow blood greatly reduces the maturation rate ofTrypanosoma congolense infections inGlossina morsitans fed on such diets. In particular, delipidation of serum has the same effect as complete removal of dietary serum with few midgut infections reaching maturity. The addition of gamma-globulin to red cells partially restores the ability of immature infections to transform suggesting that serum lipids or other serum factors are not acting directly on midgut trypanosome metabolism but indirectly through interactions between dietary constituents and the flies' metabolic processes. As susceptibility toT. congolense infection is known to be maternally inherited inG. morsitans, it is suggested that serum factors act through the flies' symbionts to induce maturation in midgut infections.

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