Figures
Fight to the death.
These mouse cells in culture, with blue-stained nuclei, are infected by two strains of the banana-shaped parasitic protozoon, Toxoplasma gondii. The parasites of the black strain are coated with the mouse resistance protein, Irgb6, stained red, and will soon die. The green-stained parasites can enzymatically inactivate the resistance proteins. These parasites are therefore virulent and will soon start replicating and spreading from cell to cell. This picture illustrates one component of a complicated contest between polymorphic pathogens and polymorphic hosts. See Fleckenstein et al. (e1001358) in this issue.
Image Credit: Aliaksandr Khaminets and Jonathan Howard
Citation: (2012) PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 10(7) July 2012. PLoS Biol 10(7): ev10.i07. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pbio.v10.i07
Published: July 31, 2012
Copyright: © Khaminets, Howard. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
These mouse cells in culture, with blue-stained nuclei, are infected by two strains of the banana-shaped parasitic protozoon, Toxoplasma gondii. The parasites of the black strain are coated with the mouse resistance protein, Irgb6, stained red, and will soon die. The green-stained parasites can enzymatically inactivate the resistance proteins. These parasites are therefore virulent and will soon start replicating and spreading from cell to cell. This picture illustrates one component of a complicated contest between polymorphic pathogens and polymorphic hosts. See Fleckenstein et al. (e1001358) in this issue.
Image Credit: Aliaksandr Khaminets and Jonathan Howard