The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii can infect several warm-blooded animals. Its range for host intermediates is remarkable, even though its adaptation strategies are not fully understood. The study “In vitro growth of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites on different host cell lines selects for changes in efficiency of invasion and parasite surface antigen gene expression” published in FEMS Microbes explored how the parasite might adapt to different hosts, as explained in this #FEMSmicroBlog by Adit Naor. This paper is one of the studies featured in the Thematic Issue “Toxoplasmosis and related apicomplexan parasites”, showcasing recent advances in our understanding of Toxoplasma gondii. #FascinatingMicrobes
Can you summarise the significance of your paper for microbiologists outside from your field?
Our study shows how quickly microbial pathogens can adapt to different host environments. By growing Toxoplasma gondii in different host cell types, we observed a reproducible change in the parasite’s ability to attach to host cells, and not only to the line on which they were adapted. This change was accompanied by a change in gene expression, particularly of genes encoding for surface antigen families.
We conducted two separate experiments: we grew and passaged the parasites in Madin–Darby bovine kidney cells for over 2 years and, for a very short period. After both periods, changes in protein and gene expression were similar.
This work highlights how host environments can shape pathogen phenotypes over long or short evolutionary timescales. This concept is a general one, relevant beyond parasitology, to microbiologists studying host–pathogen interactions, microbial adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity in other infectious organisms.
Why are your results important for society or non-scientists?
Toxoplasma is a fascinating organism; it infects a very large portion of the world’s population. To most of them, it does not cause any harm. It can (and does) infect any warm-blooded animal, which is an incredible host range. How? Unfortunately, we know very little about why this parasite is so successful.
Our results show how rapidly and dramatically parasites can adapt to new environments, changing how effectively they interact with and infect host cells. Understanding its adaptation mechanisms may help explain how it successfully infects such a broad range of animals and tissues.
What is a surprising finding you stumbled upon while doing your research?
One of the most surprising findings that feels like I “stumbled” upon is how quickly parasites adapted in Madin–Darby bovine kidney cells changed.
After passing parasites for weeks, months, and years, and then studying the resulting phenotype, it was shocking to see something very similar happen in a matter of days?! It shocked us.
What was one of the main hurdles you encountered, and how did you solve it?
This research spanned a long period of my life. As the research progressed, so did my life. I got married and started a family. Being in a foreign country while becoming a mother, alongside significant personal and medical challenges, was one of the greatest hurdles I faced.
In these moments, sometimes we are lucky to have an environment that includes the right mentor (John Boothroyd) and the right colleagues (Li-av Segev-Zarko), who jump over the hurdles with you, and remind you to focus on what is most important: family. The lab will be there.
Without the right people, at the right time, neither this work nor this scientist would have been where they are today.
You decided to opt for the Transparent Peer Review route offered by FEMS Microbes. What motivated you to do so, and what are the benefits in your opinion?
Our lab (The Boothroyd lab at Stanford) really valued transparency and open scientific discussion. During my training there, I came to appreciate how essential it is for good science. Research will only progress through openness and by building on each other’s work.
When it comes to the review process, it is not different. Peer review is a critical part of the scientific process. The more transparent we are about how a study was evaluated, the better the reader can judge the science.
I also believe that sharing all parts of the scientific process will help non-scientists understand the rigor behind scientific research and strengthen public trust in science.
- Read the article “In vitro growth of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites on different host cell lines selects for changes in efficiency of invasion and parasite surface antigen gene expression” in the Thematic Issue “Toxoplasmosis and related apicomplexan parasites” by Naor and Boothroyd in FEMS Microbes (2026).
Adit Naor is an Israeli scientist, she received her Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University, in the laboratory of Uri Gophna, studying gene transfer in halophilic Archaea. She then did her postdoctoral research at Stanford University School of Medicine, in the laboratory of John Boothroyd, focusing on host–pathogen interactions and the biology of Toxoplasma gondii. She is currently a Senior Manager of R&D Microbiology at bioMerieux.
About this blog section
The section #FascinatingMicrobes for the #FEMSmicroBlog explains the science behind a paper and highlights the significance and broader context of a recent finding. One of the main goals is to share the fascinating spectrum of microbes across all fields of microbiology.
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