TY  - JOUR
A1  - Yu, Yidong
A1  - Wolf, Ann-Katrin
A1  - Thusek, Sina
A1  - Heinekamp, Thorsten
A1  - Bromley, Michael
A1  - Krappmann, Sven
A1  - Terpitz, Ulrich
A1  - Voigt, Kerstin
A1  - Brakhage, Axel A.
A1  - Beilhack, Andreas
T1  - Direct Visualization of Fungal Burden in Filamentous Fungus-Infected Silkworms
JF  - Journal of Fungi
N2  - Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are difficult to diagnose and to treat and, despite several available antifungal drugs, cause high mortality rates. In the past decades, the incidence of IFIs has continuously increased. More recently, SARS-CoV-2-associated lethal IFIs have been reported worldwide in critically ill patients. Combating IFIs requires a more profound understanding of fungal pathogenicity to facilitate the development of novel antifungal strategies. Animal models are indispensable for studying fungal infections and to develop new antifungals. However, using mammalian animal models faces various hurdles including ethical issues and high costs, which makes large-scale infection experiments extremely challenging. To overcome these limitations, we optimized an invertebrate model and introduced a simple calcofluor white (CW) staining protocol to macroscopically and microscopically monitor disease progression in silkworms (Bombyx mori) infected with the human pathogenic filamentous fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Lichtheimia corymbifera. This advanced silkworm A. fumigatus infection model could validate knockout mutants with either attenuated, strongly attenuated or unchanged virulence. Finally, CW staining allowed us to efficiently visualize antifungal treatment outcomes in infected silkworms. Conclusively, we here present a powerful animal model combined with a straightforward staining protocol to expedite large-scale in vivo research of fungal pathogenicity and to investigate novel antifungal candidates.
KW  - fungal infection model
KW  - calcofluor white staining
KW  - Aspergillus
KW  - Lichtheimia
KW  - silkworm
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228855
SN  - 2309-608X
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schuster, Sarah
A1  - Krüger, Timothy
A1  - Subota, Ines
A1  - Thusek, Sina
A1  - Rotureau, Brice
A1  - Beilhack, Andreas
A1  - Engstler, Markus
T1  - Developmental adaptations of trypanosome motility to the tsetse fly host environments unravel a multifaceted in vivo microswimmer system
JF  - eLife
N2  - 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.
KW  - none
KW  - tsetse fly
KW  - Trypanosoma
KW  - biophysics
KW  - microswimmer
KW  - sleeping sickness
KW  - structural biology
Y1  - 2017
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158662
VL  - 6
ER  -