| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5532714 | Fungal Genetics and Biology | 2017 | 4 Pages |
â¢E. cuniculi can form multiple parasitophorous vesicles (PVs) in a single host cell that undergo fusion or fission.â¢Genetically distinct E. cuniculi isolates could infect a same host cell and interact with each other.â¢Genetic exchange (sexual development) therefore could occur during host infection in the microsporidian lineage.
It has been a long-standing debate if sexual development occurs in the microsporidian lineages. Previous studies, including morphological observations, ploidy analysis, and the presence of a sex-related locus, provided evidence of possible extant of sexual development. This study presents another line of evidence by monitoring the parasitophorous vacuoles (PVs) formed by Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Time lapse observations of infection cycles of E. cuniculi revealed that multiple PVs can be formed in a single host cell and the PVs in the single cell can merge (fusion) or split (fission). The dynamics of PVs may provide a route for interactions between genetically distinct microsporidian isolates during host infections.
