Trichomonas

Trichomonas is a genus of anaerobic excavate parasites of vertebrates. It was first discovered

by Alfred François Donné in 1836 when he found these parasites in the pus of a patient suffering
from vaginitis, an inflammation of the vagina. Donné named the genus from its morphological
characteristics. The prefix tricho- originates from the Ancient Greek word θρίξ (thrix) meaning
hair, describing Trichomonas’s flagella. The suffix -monas (μονάς – single unit), describes its
similarity to unicellular organisms from the genus Monas.[2]
 Trichomonas

Two trophozoites of Trichomonas vaginalis stained with Giemsa

Scientific classification

Domain: Eukaryota

Phylum: Metamonada

Subphylum: Trichozoa

(unranked): Parabasalia

Order: Trichomonadida

Family: Trichomonadidae

Genus: Trichomonas

Species[1]

Trichomonas vulgaris

Trichomonas canistomae

Trichomonas equibuccalis

Trichomonas gallinae

Trichomonas gypaetinii

Trichomonas stableri

Trichomonas tenax

Trichomonas vaginalis
Habitat and ecology

Trichomonas is typically found in anaerobic environments. It is a known parasite of many

different animals including humans, birds, dogs, and cats.[3][4][5][6] In humans, it can be found in
the urogenital tract and in the oral cavity. It is estimated that 276 million new cases of urogenital
infections occur each year.[3][5][6] Depending on the Trichomonas species, it can either be
transmitted through direct sexual contact or through contaminated water sources.[3][5][6] In birds,
it can be found in the upper digestive tract and is transmitted when adult birds regurgitate food
to feed their young, when a bird of prey feeds on an infected bird, and through contaminated
food or water.[7]

Morphology

Trichomonas is around 10 µm in length and is normally pear-shaped. It has four flagella at its
anterior end, distinguishing itself from closely related organisms that have different numbers of
anterior flagella. At the base of these flagella are the parabasal bodies, kinetosomes
accompanied by Golgi stacks. The pelta is a sheet of microtubules that curve around the
flagellar bases. Posterior to the pelta is the axostyle, is a bundle of microtubules that extends
from the anterior end of the organism all the way to the posterior end. The nucleus of
Trichomonas is situated close to where the pelta and axostyle meet.[7][6][8][9]

Another distinguishing feature of Trichomonas is the presence of an undulating membrane. The

undulating membrane is a fin-like extension of the plasma membrane located on the side of the
organism. A flagellum that extends to the posterior end of the organism is attached to the outer
edge of the undulating membrane. At the base of the undulating membrane is a striated fiber
called the costa which is thought to exist for structural support.[7][10][6][8][9]

Trichomonas has a very interesting organelle: the hydrogenosome.[6] Hydrogenosomes are

double-membraned organelles used by trichomonads, instead of mitochondria, to produce ATP.
They do not require oxygen and instead use pyruvate:ferredoxin oxido-reductase and
hydrogenase to produce ATP from pyruvate, generating hydrogen gas as a by-product.[11]

Genetics
Trichomonas vaginalis, being the species that causes the most complications in humans, is the
only fully sequenced Trichomonas species. Through whole-genome shotgun sequencing, the
Trichomonas vaginalis genome is estimated to be around 160 Mb long, divided into six
chromosomes. However, at least 65% of its genome was found to be redundant. The redundant
genetic material is hypothesized to have emerged during Trichomonas's transition from aerobic
to anaerobic environments.[12]

In addition to discovering the large proportion of repetitive DNA in Trichomonas vaginalis

genome, the sequenced genes were also characterized. Approximately 60,000 protein-coding
genes were found. Transfer RNAs for all 20 amino acids and approximately 250 ribosomal RNA
were all found on the same chromosome.[12]

Life cycle

Trichomonas has a trophozoite form, its pear-shaped form, which is most commonly observed,
and an amoeboid form, which appears during host colonization.[12] It lacks a cyst form, but many
studies have noted a unique form in which Trichomonas appears ovoidal rather than its typical
pear-shaped form. In this ovoidal form, all its flagella are retracted in endocytic vacuoles, giving
the impression of a cystic form. However, due to the lack of a cystic wall surrounding the
organism, many studies describe this form as a pseudocystic form.[7][6]

In its trophozoite form, Trichomonas undergoes cell division through an interesting process
called cryptopleuromitosis. There are three common forms of mitosis: open, closed, and semi-
open. In open mitosis, the nuclear envelope disappears so that mitotic spindles can interact with
the chromosomes. In closed mitosis, the nuclear envelope does not disappear but mitotic
spindles appear within the nucleus to separate the chromosomes. In semi-open mitosis, the
nuclear envelope remains intact but the mitotic spindles pierce through the nuclear envelope to
divide the chromosomes. Cryptopleuromitosis is different from all the other more commonly
known methods of cell division. In cryptopleuromitosis, the chromosomes divide without the
breakdown of the nuclear envelope and without the entry of mitotic spindles into the nucleus.[13]

Diseases

Trichomonas causes disease in humans and in birds. In humans, the causative species is
Trichomonas vaginalis and Trichomonas tenax.[3][5][6] In birds, the causative species are
Trichomonas gallinae, Trichomonas gypactinii, and Trichomonas stableri.[14][15][7]
In humans

Trichomonas vaginalis is a sexually transmitted disease and causes trichomoniasis. It resides on

squamous epithelium of the urogenital tract. Many carriers of Trichomonas vaginalis, especially
men, are asymptomatic. Complications for symptomatic women include vaginitis, endometritis,
infertility, and cervical cancer. Complications for symptomatic men include urethritis, prostatitis,
epididymitis, and infertility. It is also associated with increased risk of transmission and
acquisition of HIV.[5][6]

Trichomonas tenax is transmitted through exchange of saliva and contaminated water sources.
It is an opportunistic pathogen and may cause pulmonary trichomoniasis.[3]

In birds

Trichomonas in birds inhabit the upper digestive tract and also cause trichomoniasis. It creates
lesions in the trachea and esophagus, occupying space and eventually causing emaciation and
asphyxiation.[14][15][7]

Species

Trichomonas brixi — inhabits the oral cavity of dogs and cats.[4]

Trichomonas gallinae — inhabits the upper digestive tract of primarily pigeons and doves, but
also other birds.[7]

Trichomonas gypactinii — inhabits the upper digestive tract of scavenging birds of prey, such
as vultures.[15]

Trichomonas stableri — inhabits the upper digestive tract of pigeons.[14]

Trichomonas tenax — inhabits the oral cavity of humans.[3]

Trichomonas vaginalis — inhabits the urogenital tract of humans.[5][6]

References
1. "Trichomonas" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Undef&id=5721&lv
l=3&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock) . NCBI taxonomy. Bethesda, MD: National Center for Biotechnology
Information. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
2. Donné, A. (19 September 1836). "Animalcules observés dans les matières purulentes et le produit des
sécrétions des organes génitaux de l'homme et de la femme" (https://books.google.com/books?id=Is91P
1iM6J4C&pg=PA385) . Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in
French). 3: 385–386.

3. Hersh, S. M. (1 August 1985). "Pulmonary trichomoniasis and Trichomonas tenax" (https://doi.org/10.10

99%2F00222615-20-1-1) . Journal of Medical Microbiology. 20 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1099/00222615-20-1-1
(https://doi.org/10.1099%2F00222615-20-1-1) . PMID 3894667 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/389
4667) .

4. Kellerová, Pavlína; Tachezy, Jan (April 2017). "Zoonotic Trichomonas tenax and a new trichomonad
species, Trichomonas brixi n. sp., from the oral cavities of dogs and cats". International Journal for
Parasitology. 47 (5): 247–255. doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.12.006 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ijpara.201
6.12.006) . PMID 28238869 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28238869) .

5. Menezes, Camila Braz; Frasson, Amanda Piccoli; Tasca, Tiana (5 September 2016). "Trichomoniasis – are
we giving the deserved attention to the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease worldwide?"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5354568) . Microbial Cell. 3 (9): 404–418.
doi:10.15698/mic2016.09.526 (https://doi.org/10.15698%2Fmic2016.09.526) . PMC 5354568 (https://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5354568) . PMID 28357378 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/28357378) .

6. Schwebke, Jane R.; Burgess, Donald (15 October 2004). "Trichomoniasis" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC523559) . Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 17 (4): 794–803.
doi:10.1128/CMR.17.4.794-803.2004 (https://doi.org/10.1128%2FCMR.17.4.794-803.2004) .
PMC 523559 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC523559) . PMID 15489349 (https://pub
med.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15489349) .

7. Amin, Aziza; Bilic, Ivana; Liebhart, Dieter; Hess, Michael (May 2014). "Trichomonads in birds — a review".
Parasitology. 141 (6): 733–47. doi:10.1017/S0031182013002096 (https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0031182
013002096) . PMID 24476968 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24476968) . S2CID 206247917 (http
s://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:206247917) .

8. Tasca, Tiana; De Carli, Geraldo A. (December 2003). "Scanning electron microscopy study of
Trichomonas gallinae". Veterinary Parasitology. 118 (1–2): 37–42. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2003.09.009 (http
s://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.vetpar.2003.09.009) . PMID 14651873 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/146
51873) .

9. Wartoń, A; Honigberg, BM (February 1979). "Structure of trichomonads as revealed by scanning electron

microscopy". The Journal of Protozoology. 26 (1): 56–62. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.1979.tb02732.x (http
s://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1550-7408.1979.tb02732.x) . PMID 314517 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
314517) .
10. Kulda, Jaroslav; Nohýnková, Eva; Ludvík, Jiří (October 1987). "Basic structure and function of the
trichomonad cell" (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263807062) . Acta Universitatis Carolinae
- Biologica. 30: 181–198. ISSN 0001-7124 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0001-7124) .
OCLC 967953815 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/967953815) .

11. Müller, Miklós; Mentel, Marek; van Hellemond, Jaap J.; Henze, Katrin; Woehle, Christian; Gould, Sven B.;
Yu, Re-Young; van der Giezen, Mark; Tielens, Aloysius G. M.; Martin, William F. (11 June 2012).
"Biochemistry and evolution of anaerobic energy metabolism in eukaryotes" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC3372258) . Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews. 76 (2): 444–495.
doi:10.1128/MMBR.05024-11 (https://doi.org/10.1128%2FMMBR.05024-11) . PMC 3372258 (https://w
ww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3372258) . PMID 22688819 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2
2688819) .

12. Carlton, JM; Hirt, RP; Silva, JC; Delcher, AL; Schatz, M; Zhao, Q; Wortman, JR; Bidwell, SL; Alsmark, UC;
Besteiro, S; Sicheritz-Ponten, T; Noel, CJ; Dacks, JB; Foster, PG; Simillion, C; Van de Peer, Y; Miranda-
Saavedra, D; Barton, GJ; Westrop, GD; Müller, S; Dessi, D; Fiori, PL; Ren, Q; Paulsen, I; Zhang, H; Bastida-
Corcuera, FD; Simoes-Barbosa, A; Brown, MT; Hayes, RD; Mukherjee, M; Okumura, CY; Schneider, R; Smith,
AJ; Vanacova, S; Villalvazo, M; Haas, BJ; Pertea, M; Feldblyum, TV; Utterback, TR; Shu, CL; Osoegawa, K;
de Jong, PJ; Hrdy, I; Horvathova, L; Zubacova, Z; Dolezal, P; Malik, SB; Logsdon JM, Jr; Henze, K; Gupta, A;
Wang, CC; Dunne, RL; Upcroft, JA; Upcroft, P; White, O; Salzberg, SL; Tang, P; Chiu, CH; Lee, YS; Embley,
TM; Coombs, GH; Mottram, JC; Tachezy, J; Fraser-Liggett, CM; Johnson, PJ (12 January 2007). "Draft
genome sequence of the sexually transmitted pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2080659) . Science. 315 (5809): 207–12. Bibcode:2007Sci...315..207C (http
s://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007Sci...315..207C) . doi:10.1126/science.1132894 (https://doi.org/10.
1126%2Fscience.1132894) . PMC 2080659 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC208065
9) . PMID 17218520 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17218520) .

13. Ribeiro, Karla C.; Monteiro-Leal, Luiz Henrique; Benchimol, Marlene (2000). "Contributions of the axostyle
and flagella to closed mitosis in the protists Tritrichomonas foetus and Trichomonas vaginalis". The
Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. 47 (5): 481–92. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2000.tb00077.x (https://do
i.org/10.1111%2Fj.1550-7408.2000.tb00077.x) . PMID 11001145 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/110
01145) . S2CID 5852015 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:5852015) .

14. Girard, Yvette A.; Rogers, Krysta H.; Gerhold, Richard; Land, Kirkwood M.; Lenaghan, Scott C.; Woods,
Leslie W.; Haberkern, Nathan; Hopper, Melissa; Cann, Jeff D.; Johnson, Christine K. (April 2014).
"Trichomonas stableri n. sp., an agent of trichomonosis in Pacific Coast band-tailed pigeons
(Patagioenas fasciata monilis)" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4047957) .
International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. 3 (1): 32–40.
doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2013.12.002 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ijppaw.2013.12.002) . PMC 4047957 (ht
tps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4047957) . PMID 24918075 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/24918075) .
15. Martínez-Díaz, Rafael Alberto; Ponce-Gordo, Francisco; Rodríguez-Arce, Irene; del Martínez-Herrero, María
Carmen; González, Fernando González; Molina-López, Rafael Ángel; Gómez-Muñoz, María Teresa (2
October 2014). "Trichomonas gypaetinii n. sp., a new trichomonad from the upper gastrointestinal tract
of scavenging birds of prey". Parasitology Research. 114 (1): 101–112. doi:10.1007/s00436-014-4165-5
(https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00436-014-4165-5) . PMID 25273632 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2
5273632) . S2CID 18438912 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:18438912) .

Ruggiero, Michael A.; Gordon, Dennis P.; Orrell, Thomas M.; Bailly, Nicolas; Bourgoin, Thierry;
Brusca, Richard C.; Cavalier-Smith, Thomas; Guiry, Michael D.; Kirk, Paul M.; Thuesen, Erik V.
(29 April 2015). "A higher level classification of all living organisms" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni
h.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4418965) . PLOS ONE. 10 (4): e0119248.
Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1019248R (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015PLoSO..1019248
R) . doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119248 (https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0119248) .
PMC 4418965 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4418965) . PMID 25923521
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25923521) .

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Trichomonas&oldid=1107334103"

Last edited 4 months ago by Hey man im josh