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  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schuster, Sarah
A1  - Lisack, Jaime
A1  - Subota, Ines
A1  - Zimmermann, Henriette
A1  - Reuter, Christian
A1  - Mueller, Tobias
A1  - Morriswood, Brooke
A1  - Engstler, Markus
T1  - Unexpected plasiticty in the life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei
JF  - eLife
N2  - African trypanosomes cause sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in cattle. These unicellular parasites are transmitted by the bloodsucking tsetse fly. In the mammalian host’s circulation, proliferating slender stage cells differentiate into cell cycle-arrested stumpy stage cells when they reach high population densities. This stage transition is thought to fulfil two main functions: first, it auto-regulates the parasite load in the host; second, the stumpy stage is regarded as the only stage capable of successful vector transmission. Here, we show that proliferating slender stage trypanosomes express the mRNA and protein of a known stumpy stage marker, complete the complex life cycle in the fly as successfully as the stumpy stage, and require only a single parasite for productive infection. These findings suggest a reassessment of the traditional view of the trypanosome life cycle. They may also provide a solution to a long-lasting paradox, namely the successful transmission of parasites in chronic infections, despite low parasitemia.
KW  - trypanosoma
KW  - sleeping sickness
KW  - tsetse fly
KW  - transmission
KW  - life cycle
KW  - development
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261744
VL  - 10
ER  -