Open AccessA fast and effective method for dissecting parasitic spores: myxozoans as an example
Author(s) -
Qingxiang Guo,
Yang Liu,
Yunfeng Zhai,
Zemao Gu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of experimental biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.367
H-Index - 185
eISSN - 1477-9145
pISSN - 0022-0949
DOI - 10.1242/jeb.214916
Subject(s) - spore , biology , percoll , isolation (microbiology) , density gradient , zoology , ecology , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , centrifugation , physics , quantum mechanics
Disassembling the parasitic spores and acquiring the main subunits is a prerequisite for deep understanding of the basic biology of parasites. Herein we present a fast and efficient method to dissect the myxospores in a few steps, which mainly involved sonication, sucrose density gradient and Percoll density gradient. We tested our method on three myxozoans species and demonstrated this method allows the dismembering of myxospores, isolation of intact and clean nematocysts and shell valves within 2h by low-cost. This new tool will facilitate subsequent analyses and enable a better understanding of the ecological and evolutionary significance of parasitic spores.