Author: Donna Huber

What’s Bugging MICHAEL STRAND?

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] by Leigh Beeson When warm weather approaches, so do pesky little bloodsucking pests. The unassuming mosquito may be smaller than a dime, but it packs a serious punch, killing more people each year than any other animal. And with average...

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MICU1 and MICU2 Play an Essential Role in Mitochondrial Ca2+ Uptake, Growth, and Infectivity of the Human Pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]The mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in trypanosomatids, which belong to the eukaryotic supergroup Excavata, shares biochemical characteristics with that of animals, which, together with fungi, belong to the supergroup Opisthokonta. However, the composition of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU)...

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Distinct amino acid and lipid perturbations characterize acute versus chronic malaria

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Chronic malaria is a major public health problem and significant challenge for disease eradication efforts. Despite its importance, the biological factors underpinning chronic malaria are not fully understood. Recent studies have shown that host metabolic state can...

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NUDIX hydrolases with inorganic polyphosphate exo- and endo-polyphosphatase activities in the glycosome, cytosol and nucleus of Trypanosoma brucei

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Trypanosoma brucei, a protist parasite that causes African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, relies mainly on glycolysis for ATP production when in its mammalian host. Glycolysis occurs within a peroxisome-like organelle named the glycosome. Previous work from our laboratory...

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Macrocyclic lactone anthelmintic-induced leukocyte binding to Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae: Influence of the drug resistance status of the parasite

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]The macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics are the only class of drug currently used to prevent heartworm disease. Their extremely high potency in vivo is not mirrored by their activity against Dirofilaria immitis larvae in vitro, leading to suggestions...

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Evolution of Cryptosporidium

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]A large-scale comparative genomic survey of Cryptosporidium species and subtypes reveals a cryptic anthroponotic Cryptosporidium parvum branch and a large, recent superclade of species and subtypes that undergo genetic exchange, potentially facilitating host associations. Jessica C. Kissinger. 2019. Nature Microbiology; 4:...

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Invited Speaker Spotlight: Marc-Jan Gubbels

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] About the Speaker Marc-Jan Gubbels received his Ph.D. at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, on diagnostics and vaccines for tick-transmitted Theileria and Babesia parasites of cattle. He then came to the CTEDG for a post-doc with Dr....

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Invited Speaker Spotlight: Tiffany Weinkoff

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] About the Speaker Macrophages are the major cell type infected by Leishmania parasites and the goal of my research is to define the relationship between Leishmania parasites, macrophages and the vasculature. Throughout my graduate studies and postdoctoral positions,...

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Invited Speaker Spotlight: James Morris

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] About the Speaker James Morris is currently a Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University.  He earned his BS at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg VA in 1990 and an M.S. in Entomology at...

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