biology

Trypanosoma tungarae

Trypanosoma tungarae is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Trypanosoma tungarae rather than just read about it. In short: Trypanosoma tungarae is a species of giant trypanosome, a protozoal parasite, which infects the túngara frog and is thought to be transmitted by members of the midge genus Corethrella. It was discovered in 2016.

Key takeaways

Trypanosoma tungarae belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Trypanosoma tungarae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Trypanosoma tungarae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Trypanosoma tungarae is a species of giant trypanosome, a protozoal parasite, which infects the túngara frog and is thought to be transmitted by members of the midge genus Corethrella. It was discovered in 2016.

Discovery Trypanosoma tungarae was discovered from studies of trypanosome species recovered from the blood of túngara frogs from Gamboa in the Colón Province of Panama. The species has yet to be observed in other locations.

Description Trypanosoma tungarae trypomastigotes are large, with a relatively long thin body (52 μm). They appear morphologically similar to other frog trypanosomes from Central and South America, such as Trypanososma rotatorium and Trypanosoma ranarum.

Phylogeny Phylogenetic studies of the 18S ribosomal RNA gene show that the novel species is most closely related to Trypanosoma chattoni, which has a rounded body that looks completely different from that of T. tungarae, with neither an undulating membrane nor a free flagellum.

Host and transmission The primary host is the túngara frog (Engystomops pustulosus), which inhabits southern Mexico, northern South America and Trinidad and Tobago. Transmission occurs during the mating season when the males come together in groups during the rainy season at pools of water where they all produce a mating call. Female Corethrella midges, the putative vectors, use this as a cue to locate the male túngura frogs. A calling male túngura attracts on average 142 midges (up to 511 midges) every 30 minutes. The midges are thought to then transmit T. tungarae to the male. Seven different Corethrella midges have been observed biting the male túngara frogs, and which serves as the vector is not known. The location of the parasite in the midge is also unknown. Although the female túngura frog does not produce mating calls, one female in a sample of 15 was found to be infected, suggesting that when the túngura frogs are in the mating clasp, midges trying to feed on the calling male occasionally also bite the female. Infection of males is significantly more common (10 of 25).

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Trypanosoma tungarae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Trypanosoma tungarae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Trypanosoma tungarae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Trypanosoma tungarae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Trypanosoma tungarae

In research: Trypanosoma tungarae appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Trypanosoma tungarae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Trypanosoma tungarae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Euglenozoa species, Parasites of amphibians, Protists described in 2016, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Trypanosoma tungarae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Trypanosoma tungarae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Trypanosoma tungarae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Trypanosoma tungarae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Trypanosoma tungarae in simple terms?

Why does Trypanosoma tungarae matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Trypanosoma tungarae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Trypanosoma tungarae.