Giardia is a model for microtubule organelle diversity
Many microbial eukaryotes are defined by unusual or elaborate microtubule (MT) organelles, and protists offer a unique perspective into the seemingly boundless capabilities of these cytoskeletal polymers. The microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton of Giardia consists of both unique structures (the median body, ventral disc, funis, and cytoplasmic axoneme-associated elements) and structures commonly found in flagellated protists (flagella and two mitotic spindles). This elaborate MT cytoskeleton creates a stable scaffold for cell shape, cell polarization, and intracellular trafficking. Dynamic cytoskeletal functions include: attachment, motility, mitosis and cell division, and encystation/excystation.
Structure, function, and evolution of the ventral disc
Giardia’s ventral disc is a complex MT organelle with a unique architecture that is essential for parasite attachment to the host gut epithelium. We are interested in how over 100 proteins – many unique to Giardia – have evolved to build the disc and provide the biophysical forces to enable parasite attachment.
Tell Me More
Structural inheritance of microtubule organelles
During cell division, four of eight axonemes are inherited whole into each daughter cell, yet flagellar identities change and flagellar lengths are modified each generation. We are using new genetic and imaging methods to define these mechanisms of organelle inheritance.
Tell Me More
Giardia-host-microbiome interactions
Giardia’s anaerobic metabolism may facilitate positive and negative interactions in the host gut. We use both parasite genetic and host organoid and in vivo imaging approaches to investigate how Giardia colonization impacts the small intestinal microbial ecosystem.
Tell Me More