Growth and development of two Trypanosoma cruzi clones in the arthropod Dipetalogaster maximus.

Trypomastigotes of single-cell-isolate Trypanosoma cruzi clones WA-250/1 and Esmereldo/2 were used to infect third-instar Dipetalogaster maximus. The level of infection was directly proportional to the concentration of trypomastigotes present in the blood meal. The minimum infectious dose for D. maximus was calculated as 5 organisms/ml. Clone WA-250/1 underwent epimastigote-to-metacylic trypomastigote transformation over the 30-day course of the experiments; clone Esmeraldo/2 did not undergo transformation to metacylic trypomastigotes. These data extend our knowledge of the biological diversity of T. cruzi stocks.