Discussion
The
Trichomonas genus represents a diverse group of parasitic protozoans which can infect a range of animal species (including birds and mammals) with a well-established zoonotic potential. Species include
Trichomonas vaginalis, which is a Human STI, and
Trichomonas gallinae, which infects birds, primarily Columbiformes.
They reside at mucosal surfaces of their host, which includes a complex microbiota.
Trichomonas species have been described as able to damage host tissue and induce inflammatory host responses. Notably, infections of Human and birds by
Trichomonas species are also associated with changes in the microbiota taxonomic composition. In Humans, change associated
with T. vaginalis infection of the female urogenital tract are considered to lead to a dysbiotic microbiota that can also contribute to disease states, which are characterised by excessive inflammation and increased susceptibility to other pathogens, such as HIV.
However, interactions between
Trichomonas and the members of the microbiota are still poorly understood at the molecular and cellular level.
This work aims to gain new insights into
Trichomonas-Bacterial interactions through integrating microbiological, biochemistry/enzymology, comparative genomic and transcriptomic approaches.
Using
Trichomonas gallinae as a model we present evidence that
Trichomonas species, including
T. vaginalis, have acquired a repertoire of genes encoding enzymes capable of interacting with the bacterial cell wall which have their transcripts significantly modulated in the presence of the bacterial
Escherichia coli.
These tools can potentially allow
Trichomonas to out-compete their neighbouring bacteria and/ or liberate molecules that can promote
Trichomonas’ growth. These findings bring new insights into
Trichomonas-Bacterial interactions and how these evolutionarily conserved interactions can potentially influence the zoonotic ability of
Trichomonas.
