A novel mechanism of microbial attachment: The flagellar pump of Giardia lamblia
Theodore J Picou, Haibei Luo, Robert J Polackwich, Beatriz B Gabilondo, Ryan G McAllister, David A Gagnon, Thomas R Powers, Heidi G Elmendorf, Jeffrey S Urbach, Eva Kanso · 2024
Read A novel mechanism of microbial attachment: The flagellar pump of Giardia lamblia by Theodore J Picou, Haibei Luo, Robert J Polackwich, Beatriz B Gabilondo, Ryan G McAllister, David A Gagnon, Thomas R Powers, Heidi G Elmendorf, Jeffrey S Urbach, Eva Kanso (2024) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-11631216.txt.
Description
Theodore Picou and co-authors present a 2024 study of a fresh way that a gut parasite sticks to surfaces. Most microbes grip by chemical bonds, weak or strong. This parasite, a single cell swimmer that infects the small gut, can grip near any surface, live or not.
The team tracked glowing dots to map flow between the parasite and the surface below it. A pair of its whip-like tails pumps fluid through that gap in a steady stream. Models and tests show the flow drops pressure in the gap. That drop is strong enough to explain the grip force teams had measured. The pump lets the parasite hold on to firm and porous faces alike. The authors say other swimmers may share the trick.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Theodore J Picou, Haibei Luo, Robert J Polackwich, Beatriz B Gabilondo, Ryan G McAllister, David A Gagnon, Thomas R Powers, Heidi G Elmendorf, Jeffrey S Urbach, Eva Kanso |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2024 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 43 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |