Research Unit for Tropical Diseases, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology, Brussels, Belgium. michels@trop.ucl.ac.be
Abstract
The energy metabolism of Trypanosomatidae has been the subject of many reviews during the past decade. In recent years, however, new data have led to a more complete picture of trypanosomatid metabolism and a reappraisal of the role of some characteristic organelles in the energy supply of these parasites. For years, the glycosome was thought to be a peroxisome-like organelle that had evolved to allow the parasites to carry out glycolysis at a high rate using a relatively small amount of enzyme. However, the results of recent studies of trypanosomatid glycolysis and the detection of various other pathways and enzymes in the organelle necessitate a modification of this view. Here, Paul Michels, Véronique Hannaert and Frédéric Bringaud review the new data and discuss the possible implications for our view on the role of the glycosome.