Some Obseuvations on Trypanosoma Brucei? (Pecaudl?) anh the 



Sudan Camel Tkypanosome in Cultures 



WITH A note on 



Endoglobular and Developmental Forms of T. Brucei? (Pecaudi?) 



BY 



George Buchanan 



Senior Laboratory Assistant 



Wellcome Tropical Kesearch Laboratories, Khartoum 



The cultivation of these trypanosomes was carried out mainly with a view to determine 

 if their cultural features corresponded to those of T. brucei and T. evansi respectively, 

 to which in many other respects they appear to be closely allied. 



Techniqiie 



The culture media used were Novy and MacNeal's blood agar and Nicolle's 

 modification of the same. The inoculations were made from the heart's blood of infected 

 gerbils. Not more than two drops of blood from a capillary pipette were usually introduced 

 into the small amount of condensation fluid, the tubes then being incubated at 22' to 25° C. 



T. liEUCEi (pecaudi) 



The inoculations were made at a time when the trypanosomes were not too numerous 

 and before the appearance of the swollen involution forms in the peripheral blood. 

 It was found that cultures inoculated with blood showing a heavy infection, or after Techni<|u« 

 the animal had succumbed to the disease, were invariably failures, as in such cases 

 there was a preponderance of degenerated trypanosomes which only further rapidly 

 degenerated in the fluid. 



Nicolle's medium unfailingly showed motile trypanosomes up to sixteen days, while in 

 Novy and MacNeal's blood agar no recognisable forms were seen after five days as a rule, 

 with the exception of one culture which showed feebly motile trypanosomes up to the 

 thirtieth day, and from which sub-inoculation was successful. 



Appearance in Gidtnre 



The 24-hours' cultures showed numerous individual trypanosomes actively motile, 

 while clumping in the form of rosettes was also much in evidence (Plate II., fig. 1). The 

 tendency to agglomerate at this stage was very marked in all cultures, and such formation 

 rapidly progressed on the union of two trypanosomes being established, others then 

 appearing and uniting by their anterior ends. Tlie numbers forming clumps averaged eight, cuUmes 

 although, in one instance, as many as eighteen were seen. Several were also observed 

 dividing longitudinally at this stage. 



The stained films showed trypanosomes in varying stages of degeneration. The 

 flagella had disappeared in the presumably young forms, while others, corresponding to 

 the swollen trypanosomes in the peripheral blood, were in an advanced stage of 

 disintegration, assuming very eccentric forms with elongated and thickened flagella. 



In the 48-hours' cultures, the number of trypanosomes was well maintained, but the 

 clumps were not so numerous, and those seen presented a whorl-like formation. The 

 trypanosomes in the stained films contained vacuoles and were rather granular in 

 appearance. 



