Toxoplasma

a model

host-pathogen interaction

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is a single-cell parasite, and the most successful parasite on the planet, infecting up to a third of the world’s human population. Inside a host T. gondii develops within a host-cell. How the parasite detects and interprets biological information (signals) within this cell is poorly understood. These signals can be transmitted by reactive small molecules (such as hydrogen peroxide), and detected by reactive protein-associated amino acids such as cysteine.

The origin of these reactive messengers, how they are detected and how the parasite responds is not known and is an avenue of research we are pursuing.