Tritrichomonas foetus: Budding from Multinucleated Pseudocysts

Tritrichomonas foetus is a flagellated protozoan parasite that causes trichomoniasis, a major sexually transmitted disease in cattle. T. foetus presents a simple life cycle, exhibiting only the trophozoitic form. However, under unfavorable growth conditions, the trophozoites, which are polar and flagellated, can round up and internalize their flagella forming pseudocysts. In this form no cyst wall surrounds the cell and it also displays a distinct mitosis when compared with the trophozoite form. In pseudocyst mitosis, the cell proceeds with duplication of cytoskeletal and mastigont structures; nuclear division occurs but without the corresponding cytoplasm division. Thus, giant multinucleated cells which present many mastigont structures are formed (approximately 62% of the population). These polymastigont/multinucleated cells are maintained when the cells are under stress conditions. When environmental conditions become favorable, the flagella are externalized and new flagellated trophozoites one by one, gradually bud from the multinucleated cell. Thus, in order to better understand the pseudocyst mitosis, the polymastigont formation and the generation of new cells by this budding process, video microscopy and other complementary techniques, such as immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy were used.