The massively expanded endocytotic machinery of Trichomonas vaginalis (A04)

• Subject Area: Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology
• Term: from 2016 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 267205415

We will work on Trichomonas vaginalis, whose infection biology involves attaching to human epithelial cells as an amoeboid cell and subsequent endocytosis of tissue. Neither the membrane proteins essential for cell-cell attachment, nor those that mediate prey identity are well known. Preliminary data demon-strates the parasite¿s surface proteome to be rich in diversity and the endocytotic machinery to be mas-sively expanded. We will characterise the ¿feeding machinery¿, starting from the recognition of prey through surface membrane proteins down to those that orchestrate the dynamic nature of endo- and phagocytosis.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1208: Identity and Dynamics of Membrane Systems - from Molecules to Cellular Functions
• Applicant Institution: Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Sven B. Gould