Project 3: Biomechanics of adhesion, locomotion and reproduction of plathyhelminths

What Does Physics Have to Do with Parasites?

Flukes possess a unique anatomical feature: suckers that allow these parasites to attach to and move within the tissues of their hosts. Despite the suckers being one of the defining characteristic of this class of parasites, we know little about their biomechanical properties. How strongly do schistosomes need to attach themselves to avoid being swept away by the bloodstream? Do these adhesion forces differ from those of a related fluke, the liver fluke, which inhabits very different tissues?

Measuring the Physical Forces of Worms

To measure the forces exerted by parasites, we utilize traction force microscopy and microfluidics-based biochip systems ("worm-on-a-chip"). In collaboration with our partners in the DFG Priority Program "Physics of Parasitism," we employ soft matter engineering and 3D tomography. Together with the Grevelding research group, we are investigating the influence of physical forces on the maturation of schistosomes.

Physics plays a crucial role in the lives of flukes. By gaining more knowledge in this area, we can better understand the evolution of parasites and their adaptations to various host habitats.

Further reading about the DFG Priority Program: https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/forschung/physics-of-parasitism/