Funding outcome

Cellular parasites can infect humans and cause disease in many different ways. One of which is by taking and releasing materials in and out of the host. This is the way Trichomonas vaginalis behaves. It infects the cells within a woman's vagina and causes issues with pregnancy and increases the risk of HIV. This disease has become the most prominent non-viral STD in the world, infecting millions of women each year. Pathways within T. vaginalis allow for the parasite to move materials from host to parasite and vice versa. This allows for the progression of the disease and survival of the parasite within a hostile environment. At each compartment in the cell, molecular machines, called adaptins, act to select cargo for transport and build up the packages in which it is shipped. Despite the small size of T. vaginalis, it has 4 times as many adaptins than humans. Understanding these machines will help us better know how this parasite works and how it came to be that way. Additionally, T. vaginalis switches life-stages between swimming and attached forms. Moreover, there are different genetic types of this parasite. We have received access to five individual T. vaginalis genomes in which we will complete searches for adaptins. Furthermore, we are unsure if the machines that exist in more than one copy perform the same functions. To determine this, we will take each adaptin copy and assess any differences, specifically the area that determines which cargo to package. The end goal of this project is to shine a light on how this disease came to be such a prominent force in women's health. By understanding the origins of the system that serves as the engine of the disease, we can better depict how this organism is functioning, and what may be done to turn that engine off, helping countless women around the world.