PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Augusto, Ingrid
AU  - Girard-Dias, Wendell
AU  - Schoijet, Alejandra
AU  - Alonso, Guillermo Daniel
AU  - Portugal, Rodrigo V
AU  - de Souza, Wanderley
AU  - Jimenez, Veronica
AU  - Miranda, Kildare
TI  - Quantitative assessment of the nanoanatomy of the contractile vacuole complex in <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em>
AID  - 10.26508/lsa.202402826
DP  - 2024 Oct 01
TA  - Life Science Alliance
PG  - e202402826
VI  - 7
IP  - 10
4099  - https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/7/10/e202402826.short
4100  - https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/7/10/e202402826.full
SO  - Life Sci. Alliance2024 Oct 01; 7
AB  - Trypanosoma cruzi uses various mechanisms to cope with osmotic fluctuations during infection, including the remodeling of organelles such as the contractile vacuole complex (CVC). Little is known about the morphological changes of the CVC during pulsation cycles occurring upon osmotic stress. Here, we investigated the structure–function relationship between the CVC and the flagellar pocket domain where fluid discharge takes place—the adhesion plaque—during the CVC pulsation cycle. Using TcrPDEC2 and TcVps34 overexpressing mutants, known to have low and high efficiency for osmotic responses, we described a structural phenotype for the CVC that matches their corresponding physiological responses. Quantitative tomography provided data on the volume of the CVC and spongiome connections. Changes in the adhesion plaque during the pulsation cycle were also quantified and a dense filamentous network was observed. Together, the results suggest that the adhesion plaque mediates fluid discharge from the central vacuole, revealing new aspects of the osmoregulatory system in T. cruzi.