Emergent actin flows explain distinct modes of gliding motility

Christina L. Hueschen, Li Av Segev-Zarko, Jian Hua Chen, Mark A. LeGros, Carolyn A. Larabell, John C. Boothroyd, Rob Phillips, Alexander R. Dunn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

During host infection, Toxoplasma gondii and related unicellular parasites move using gliding, which differs fundamentally from other known mechanisms of eukaryotic cell motility. Gliding is thought to be powered by a thin layer of flowing filamentous (F)-actin sandwiched between the plasma membrane and a myosin-covered inner membrane complex. How this surface actin layer drives the various gliding modes observed in experiments—helical, circular, twirling and patch, pendulum or rolling—is unclear. Here we suggest that F-actin flows arise through self-organization and develop a continuum model of emergent F-actin flow within the confines provided by Toxoplasma geometry. In the presence of F-actin turnover, our model predicts the emergence of a steady-state mode in which actin transport is largely directed rearward. Removing F-actin turnover leads to actin patches that recirculate up and down the cell, which we observe experimentally for drug-stabilized actin bundles in live Toxoplasma gondii parasites. These distinct self-organized actin states can account for observed gliding modes, illustrating how different forms of gliding motility can emerge as an intrinsic consequence of the self-organizing properties of F-actin flow in a confined geometry.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number4800
Pages (from-to)1989-1996
Number of pages8
JournalNature Physics
Volume20
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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