Authors

C Faso¹;  ¹ Institute of Cell Biology-University of Bern, Switzerland

Discussion

Eukaryotic subcellular diversity is awe-inspiring and, as parasitologists, we have the rare privilege of experiencing this diversity in our daily work. Work on so-called model organisms tends to dismiss discoveries in cell and molecular parasite biology as exclusive adaptations with low relevance to the rest of the cell biology community. However, in my presentation I'd like to share with the audience what we learned from genera such as Giardia that has actually chipped away at the feet of dogma in endocytic and secretory trafficking. I will also present our ongoing work on trying to understand unconventional protein secretion at the interface of two species, in terms of its components and phylogenetic history, using both Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica as simplified models for protein trafficking.