Q43.3-6ITD. - Campbell Biology

Question

Scientists can now also distinguish the abundance of trypanosomes recognized specifically by antibodies type A and type B. How would incorporating such information change your graph?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

Scientists can tell the difference between trypanosomes recognized by antibody A and trypanosomes recognized by antibody B, and they can count how many of each type of trypanosome are there. 

Antibody A should detect the most trypanosomes on day 8, whereas antibody B should detect the most trypanosomes on day 14.

Step 1: Trypanosomes

Trypanosomes, which are eukaryotic flagellates that induce nagana in cattle, cause sleeping sickness. Trypanosomiasis is a disease caused by parasitic protozoan trypanosomes of the genus Trypanosoma invertebrates. 

 

Other trypanosome species are responsible for cattle diseases.

 

Step 2: About the experiment

Two data sets were analyzed in this exercise to test hypotheses regarding the benefits of the trypanosome's ever-shifting surface glycoproteins and the host's immunological response. This was to study how the immune system reacts to a new pathogen.

Step 3: The change in the graph.

Considering that antibody A levels increased around day 6, trypanosomes likely began expressing glycoprotein A on their surfaces at about that time. As the antibodies began to work, trypanosome numbers peaked around day 8 and began to decline. 

Similar logic applies to the trypanosomes identified by antibody B. After antibody B levels began to rise, their abundance increased shortly.