Motility of archigregarine Selenidium sp. parasitizing polychaete Pygospio elegans from White Sea
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| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Phylum Apicomplexa belongs to the most monitored group of protists, comprising exclusively parasites of vertebrates and invertebrates. The phylum also includes gregarines – relatively large parasites inhabiting intestine, body cavity or different tissue of invertebrates. It is known that marine gregarines (mainly archigregarines) possess specific characteristics inferred to be ancestral for the phylum. Among theories on apicomplexan motility, the 'glideosome' concept, first announced for Toxoplasma gondii takes the principal place. Nevertheless, the exact mechanism of motility still remains unknown in early emerging groups of Apicomplexa, comprising gregarines. Movement in these organisms usually differs from the typical substrate dependent gliding and seem it correlate with various modifications of their cell cortex. Here, we present our preliminary data onthe motility of an archigregarine Selenidium sp. parasitizing the intestine of marine arctic polychaete Pygospio elegans. In general, gregarines of genus Selenidium exhibit pendular or rolling movement.Their cell surface displays broad longitudinal folds separated by grooves. Beneath each fold, sets of parallel longitudinal subpellicular microtubules are present. In this study, we performed experiments on living parasites treated with cytoskeletal drugs, to determine the role of actin filaments and subpellicular microtubules in their motility. For monitoring the actin filaments,two probes were used: jasplakinolide (induces actin polymerisation) and cytochalasineD (inhibits actin polymerisation). To verify the role of subpellicular microtubules in parasite movement, oryzalin and colchicine were used. The changes of gregarine motility induced by drugs were monitored under light microscopy and processed for further immunofluorescent and electron microscopic analyses. Comprehension of cell motility, especially in ancestral lineages of apicomplexans, appears important for controlling diseases and for their treatment. |
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