Berlin 2024 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 36: Cell Mechanics II
BP 36.9: Talk
Friday, March 22, 2024, 12:15–12:30, H 0112
Unraveling the dynamics of Trypanosoma brucei: a microfluidic approach — •Hannes Wunderlich1, Sebastian W. Krauss1, Lucas Brehm2, Marinus Thein2, Klaus Ersfeld2, and Matthias Weiss1 — 1Experimental Physics I, University of Bayreuth, Germany — 2Molecular Parasitology, University of Bayreuth, Germany
Trypanosoma brucei is a unicellular parasite that causes the African sleeping sickness after transmission by tsetse flies. These microswimmers use a single microtubule-driven flagellum for their helical forward motion, which is essential for the virulence and survival of the parasite. A highly ordered subpellicular microtubule array equips the cell with a considerable bending elasticity. However it is unclear how this elasticity relates to the cell’s propulsion.
Using microfluidic devices, we have studied the swimming of wild-type trypanosomes and mutant strains in which post-translational modificiations of microtubules have been altered. First, trypanosomes were allowed to move freely in 2D chambers, from which a run-and-tumble motion and the effective velocities of individual cells were extracted and compared. When encapsulating single trypanosomes in droplets of similar size, a purely rotational motion emerged. While each cell showed a mostly persistent (counter-)clockwise rotation, no directional preference was seen on the ensemble level. Monitoring the angular motion over extended periods revealed again a run-and-tumble behavior. The planar and angular velocities depended on the cell’s elasticity. Our results suggest that an effective propulsion requires a distinct elasticity of the subpellicular microtubule array.
Keywords: trypanosoma; microfluidics; cell tracking; active motility; confined motion