Flagellar motility in eukaryotic human parasites

Krüger, Tim; Engstler, Markus

doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2015.10.034

Cited by 39 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 170 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Whilst eukaryotic and bacterial flagella have been studied in detail (Krüger and Engstler, 2015; Chen et al, 2011; DeRosier, 2006), less is known about the architecture and assembly of their archaeal counterparts. In the past decade, biochemical investigation and conventional negative-stain electron microscopy have established that the archaellum consists of a helical array of multiple copies of 1–5 archaellins with N-terminal sequence homology to bacterial type 4 pili (T4P)(Albers and Jarrell, 2015; Pohlschroder et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and in situ organisation of the Pyrococcus furiosus archaellum machinery

Daum

Vonck

Bellack

et al. 2017

eLife

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The archaellum is the macromolecular machinery that Archaea use for propulsion or surface adhesion, enabling them to proliferate and invade new territories. The molecular composition of the archaellum and of the motor that drives it appears to be entirely distinct from that of the functionally equivalent bacterial flagellum and flagellar motor. Yet, the structure of the archaellum machinery is scarcely known. Using combined modes of electron cryo-microscopy (cryoEM), we have solved the structure of the Pyrococcus furiosus archaellum filament at 4.2 Å resolution and visualise the architecture and organisation of its motor complex in situ. This allows us to build a structural model combining the archaellum and its motor complex, paving the way to a molecular understanding of archaeal swimming motion.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.27470.001

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and in situ organisation of the Pyrococcus furiosus archaellum machinery

Daum

Vonck

Bellack

et al. 2017

eLife

154

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several free swimming protists, pre-eminently the green alga Chlamydomonas , have been used as model organisms during the last century, for the analysis of phototaxis, ultrastructural characterisation of the axonemal system and analysis of intraflagellar transport, to name only a few important topics (Simon and Plattner, 2014). Again, the relevance of these organisms in their natural habitats is only recently being fully appreciated, as integrated efforts to analyse the huge global diversity of free swimming protists on the one hand (de Vargas et al, 2015) and to elucidate the mechanisms of unicellular parasites in their host system on the other hand, are under way (Krüger and Engstler, 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental adaptations of trypanosome motility to the tsetse fly host environments unravel a multifaceted in vivo microswimmer system

Schuster

Krüger

Subota

et al. 2017

eLife

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The highly motile and versatile protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma brucei undergoes a complex life cycle in the tsetse fly. Here we introduce the host insect as an expedient model environment for microswimmer research, as it allows examination of microbial motion within a diversified, secluded and yet microscopically tractable space. During their week-long journey through the different microenvironments of the fly´s interior organs, the incessantly swimming trypanosomes cross various barriers and confined surroundings, with concurrently occurring major changes of parasite cell architecture. Multicolour light sheet fluorescence microscopy provided information about tsetse tissue topology with unprecedented resolution and allowed the first 3D analysis of the infection process. High-speed fluorescence microscopy illuminated the versatile behaviour of trypanosome developmental stages, ranging from solitary motion and near-wall swimming to collective motility in synchronised swarms and in confinement. We correlate the microenvironments and trypanosome morphologies to high-speed motility data, which paves the way for cross-disciplinary microswimmer research in a naturally evolved environment.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.27656.001

show abstract

“…However, functional pleiotropy of the flagellum makes it difficult to interpret such mutant phenotypes complicating the distinction between direct, indirect, and stage-specific effects on cellular function54344. To address such issues, detergent-extracted models are an option for studying differences in the function of the flagella under standardized assay conditions21.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These waves are interrupted by abrupt ‘cilia-like’ distally propagating waves (base-to-tip) enabling the cell to change direction in response to an obstacle34. The physics of parasite motility has received interdisciplinary focus due to its importance in host-parasite interactions5. However, till date flagellar motility and its regulation in Leishmania remains poorly understood despite the importance in its survival and infectivity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This uptake is highly reduced in immobile parasites2. The Leishmania flagellum thus, is a highly versatile organelle that exhibits intricate environment triggered responses far beyond simple fluid swimming behaviour5. Studies of the flagellar ultrastructure have been possible in the related trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei using RNAi techniques9 which is not possible in Leishmania spp3.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reactivation of flagellar motility in demembranated Leishmania reveals role of cAMP in flagellar wave reversal to ciliary waveform

Mukhopadhyay

Dey

2016

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The flagellum of parasitic trypanosomes is a multifunctional appendage essential for its viability and infectivity. However, the biological mechanisms that make the flagellum so dynamic remains unexplored. No method is available to access and induce axonemal motility at will to decipher motility regulation in trypanosomes. For the first time we report the development of a detergent-extracted/demembranated ATP-reactivated model for studying flagellar motility in Leishmania. Flagellar beat parameters of reactivated parasites were similar to live ones. Using this model we discovered that cAMP (both exogenous and endogenous) induced flagellar wave reversal to a ciliary waveform in reactivated parasites via cAMP-dependent protein kinase A. The effect was reversible and highly specific. Such an effect of cAMP on the flagellar waveform has never been observed before in any organism. Flagellar wave reversal allows parasites to change direction of swimming. Our findings suggest a possible cAMP-dependent mechanism by which Leishmania responds to its surrounding microenvironment, necessary for its survival. Our demembranated-reactivated model not only serves as an important tool for functional studies of flagellated eukaryotic parasites but has the potential to understand ciliary motility regulation with possible implication on human ciliopathies.

show abstract

Flagellar motility in eukaryotic human parasites

Cited by 39 publications

References 170 publications

Structure and in situ organisation of the Pyrococcus furiosus archaellum machinery

Structure and in situ organisation of the Pyrococcus furiosus archaellum machinery

Developmental adaptations of trypanosome motility to the tsetse fly host environments unravel a multifaceted in vivo microswimmer system

Reactivation of flagellar motility in demembranated Leishmania reveals role of cAMP in flagellar wave reversal to ciliary waveform

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About