The order Vampyrellida comprises predatory amoebae that feed on other eukaryotes in a highly specialised way and occur in diverse ecosystems (Hess & Suthaus, 2022: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protis.2021.125854). The aim of the project is to gain a better cell biological understanding of these extraordinary protists. Specifically, we are interested in questions of motility, cytoskeletal structure, ultrastructure and secretion of enzymes during vampyrellid feeding. The tasks in this project include

– Protocol optimisation for transmission electron microscopy on vampire amoebae
– Comparative description of the ultrastructure of different species
– Visualisation of cytoskeletal proteins using fluorescence microscopy
– Motility analyses using video microscopy
– Laboratory experiments on the interactions with prey cells
– Establishment of interference experiments (e.g. RNAi) with vampire amoebae
– Experiments on the genetic modification of vampire amoebae
– Detailed preparation of manuscripts
– Presentation of scientific results at conferences
– Support in the teaching activities of the department and supervision of student work