Figures
Morphology, motility and microenvironment generate the specific cellular waveforms of African trypanosomes.
Each row of the figure shows several cells of a different trypanosome species or strain. Characteristic cellular waveforms are identifiable with the three-dimensional views of single cells. Additionally, the variation between individual snapshots can be visualised. Trypanosomes are incessant swimmers and thus, there is no resting morphology that can be described. In fact, the product of physical parameters of the cell, the swimming capacity and the microenvironment give the parasites their characteristic appearance, here termed the cellular waveform, which could explain species-specific dissemination and annidation in the mammalian host (see Engstler et al., Fig. 5).
Image Credit: Engstler et al.
Citation: (2016) PLoS Pathogens Issue Image | Vol. 12(2) February 2016. PLoS Pathog 12(2): ev12.i02. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.ppat.v12.i02
Published: February 29, 2016
Copyright: © 2016 Engstler et al. 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.
Each row of the figure shows several cells of a different trypanosome species or strain. Characteristic cellular waveforms are identifiable with the three-dimensional views of single cells. Additionally, the variation between individual snapshots can be visualised. Trypanosomes are incessant swimmers and thus, there is no resting morphology that can be described. In fact, the product of physical parameters of the cell, the swimming capacity and the microenvironment give the parasites their characteristic appearance, here termed the cellular waveform, which could explain species-specific dissemination and annidation in the mammalian host (see Engstler et al., Fig. 5).
Image Credit: Engstler et al.