SPP 2332:  Physics of Parasitism

• Subject Area: Medicine ; Construction Engineering and Architecture ; Biology ; Chemistry ; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering ; Materials Science and Engineering ; Physics ; Thermal Engineering/Process Engineering
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 441960173

Parasitism, the intimate antagonistic liaison between two species, has always fascinated scientists from a variety of disciplines. Traditionally, parasitology was concerned mainly with organismic studies, while today’s parasitology focuses on medically-relevant cellular and molecular mechanisms, at ever-increasing depth. The priority programme “Physics of Parasitism” defines a new frontier in this field, namely the physics of parasites interacting with their hosts. This interaction is controlled by the anatomy of the parasites (Bauplan), the physics of their locomotion, and the mechanics of their attachment to host structures. Parasitism has evolved many times and hence, there are numerous convergent solutions to the challenge of how to physically hijack a host. These long periods of co-evolution have equipped parasites with high degrees of optimality. Examples are parasitic tools such as suckers and shields, or refined locomotive devices that allow attachment and also navigation in various body fluids, in crowded and confined spaces, and in highly viscous environments - often at surprisingly high speeds. The priority programme will study the physics of parasitism using a selection of complementary and tractable parasites that colonise representative host niches. These include parasitic protists such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, and Trypanosoma, as well as metazoan parasites such as Schistosoma, Fasciola, and Echinococcus. We ultimately aim to elaborate a comparative and quantitative framework of the physical constraints and mechanical forces acting at the dynamic parasite-host interfaces. We will measure the material properties and mechanics of parasites in their niches, uncover the physical basis of their locomotion, and determine the mechanical and physical basis for their attachment. To reach these goals, the priority programme uniquely combines expertise from parasitology, molecular cell biology, experimental and theoretical physics, mathematics and simulation science. In this way, “Physics of Parasitism” opens new chapters in both parasitology and the physics of life. We envisage that the results obtained during our interdisciplinary endeavour might expose novel ways of combating parasitic diseases based on mechanobiology, against which resistances are unlikely to evolve.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: USA

Projects

• Arthropod parasites of marine mammals: convergent physical solutions of living on aquatic hosts (Applicants Gorb, Stanislav N. ;  Lehnert-Sobotta, Kristina )
• Binding properties determine the cytoadhesion of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes with the host (Applicants Bruchhaus, Iris ;  Gutsmann, Thomas )
• Biomechanics of the Platyhelminth Adhesion, Locomotion, and Reproduction (Applicants Grevelding, Christoph G. ;  Häberlein, Simone ;  Mosig, Alexander ;  Schacher, Felix H. )
• Biophysical methods to quantify mechanics, shapes and forces (Applicant Guck, Jochen )
• Biophysics of Immune-cell Hijacking by Toxoplasma gondii (Applicants Renkawitz, Jörg ;  Sabass, Benedikt )
• Building a data-driven model of a „Virtual Parasite“ (Applicant Kollmannsberger, Philip )
• Consequences of microtubule posttranslational modifications on the physics of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei (Applicants Ersfeld, Klaus ;  Weiss, Matthias )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Engstler, Markus )
• Data-driven agent-based modelling of Trypanosoma collective behaviour (Applicant Fischer, Sabine )
• Dynamics and forces during first stages of Entamoeba tissue invasion (Applicants Metzler, Ralf ;  Selhuber-Unkel, Christine )
• Locomotion of parasitic nematodes in the gut: movement in viscoelastic mucus intertwined with the metabolic activity of the nematodes (Applicants Hartmann, Susanne ;  Niesner, Raluca Aura )
• Mechanical strategies to avoid interspecies competition in trypanosomes (Applicant Engstler, Markus )
• Modelling trypanosome motility in blood flow (Applicant Fedosov, Ph.D., Dmitry )
• Physical principles of parasite-host interactions in Giardia muris infection (Applicants Hauser, Anja Erika ;  Rausch, Sebastian )
• Predicting forces and shapes for invasion of apicomplexan parasites into host cells (Applicants Auth, Thorsten ;  Dasanna, Anil Kumar )
• Structural determinants and function of chirality in the motion of malaria parasites (Applicants Frischknecht, Friedrich ;  Schwarz, Ulrich )
• The physics of adhesion of Giardia duodenalis and it’s structural basis: Understanding the key process for colonization of the small intestine by a globally prevalent human protozoan parasite and etiologic agent of Giardiasis (Applicants Aebischer, Anton ;  Jacobs, Karin ;  Jung, Jan Philipp )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Markus Engstler