, 1999 and Ruiz et al., 2001b) and a VTC

transmembrane complex (Fang et al., 2007 and Hothorn et al., 2009). It will be interesting to evaluate to which extent spherites physiology mirrors PolyP granules from other models. We express our gratitude to Roberto Docampo for providing recombinant exopolyphosphatase and to Eduardo Fox for proof reading. This work was supported by grants from the following Brazilian agencies: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Brazil, Programa Jovens Pesquisadores CNPq/Brazil (to K.M.), Grupos Emergentes e Programa Pensa Rio da Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa Carlos Chagas Filho (FAPERJ), Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (PADCT), and Programa de Núcleos de Excelência (PRONEX). “
“The heteroxenous flagellate Trypanosoma

cruzi (Kinetoplastida, Trypanosomatidae) PI3K assay Selleck RAD001 is the causative agent of American Trypanosomiasis, a disease with a strong socioeconomic impact in Latin America ( Chagas, 1909, Dias, 2006 and Garcia et al., 2007). This tropical parasitic infection is highly abundant in South and Central America, where 5–10 million people are infected and approximately 25 million people are living in risk areas ( WHO, 2002, WHO, 2010 and Garcia et al., 2007). Chagas disease is usually transmitted by the feces of triatomines, which contains metacyclic T. cruzi form, but transplantation of organs, blood transfusion and oral infection are alternative transmission routes ( Beard et al., 2001, CDC, 2002, CDC, 2006, Dias, 2006 and Coura and Borges-Pereira, 2010). Though Triatoma infestans, formerly the major T. cruzi vector, has been eradicated from Brazil, in the northeastern semi-arid areas of the country Histone demethylase Triatoma brasiliensis has became one of the main Chagas disease vectors. This triatomine is regularly infected with T. cruzi and widely distributed, occurring in six Brazilian states ( Guarneri et al., 2000, Costa

et al., 2002, Costa et al., 2003 and Vitta et al., 2007). T. brasiliensis is a native species able to colonize different ecotopes such as households, sylvatic and peridomicilar environments and re-colonizes areas previously controlled by insecticides ( Costa et al., 2002 and Costa et al., 2003). The potential of these insects to be naturally infected by T. cruzi and its large distribution shows the importance for the transmission of the disease in some localities of Brazil. After infecting the vector, T. cruzi must interact with the hostile environment of the insects’ digestive tract, in which enzymes and digestion products are some of the factors that might modulate the parasite distribution and its development to infective metacyclic forms ( Garcia et al., 1995, Garcia et al., 2007, Garcia et al., 2011, Azambuja et al., 2005, Araújo et al., 2007 and Araújo et al., 2008). In order to understand the survival of T.