The trypanosomatid flagellar apparatus contains conventional and unique features, whose
roles in infectivity are still enigmatic. Although the flagellum and the flagellar pocket are
critical organelles responsible for all vesicular trafficking between the cytoplasm and cell
surface, still very little is known about their roles in pathogenesis and how molecules get to
and from the flagellar pocket. The ongoing analysis of the genome sequences and proteome
profiles of Leishmania major and L infantum, Trypanosoma cruzi, T. brucei, and T. gambiensi
(
www.genedb.org
), coupled with our own work on L. chagasi (as part of the Brazilian
Northeast Genome Program—
www.progene.ufpe.br
), prompted us to scrutinize flagellar
genes and proteins of Leishmania spp. promastigotes that could be virulence factors in leishmaniasis.
We have identified some overlooked parasite factors such as the MNUDC-1 (a protein
involved in nuclear development and genomic fusion) and SQS (an enzyme of sterol
biosynthesis), among the described flagellar gene families. A database concerning the results
of this work, as well as of other studies of Leishmania and its organelles, is available at
http://nugen.lcc.uece.br/LPGate
. It will serve as a convenient bioinformatics resource on
genomics and pathology of the etiological agents of leishmaniasis.
