Author Spotlight: Advancements in Glycosomal pH Monitoring in <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i> Using pHluorin2 Biosensor

Glucose metabolism is critical for Trypanosoma brucei, yet little is known about how the cells sense and respond to changing glucose levels in the environment. We have developed parasites expressing a pH biosensor that allows us to monitor glycosomal pH in live parasites, which will aid in the understanding of parasites'dynamic responses to nutrient fluctuation. A challenge for this experiment would be the availability of a flow cytometer equipped with a microtiter plate reader, as well as the appropriate filter sets to measure biosensor fluorescence.

Additionally, T.brucei is a risk group two organism, so the cytometer must be housed within a biosafety level two facility. It has been discovered that the pH level of glycosomes can affect glycolysis as hexokinase and phosphofructokinase are pH sensitive. However, the pH probes that were previously used did not accurately target to the glycosome in the bloodstream form.

A better tool was needed to study the relationship between glycosomal pH and glycolysis in this parasite life stage. The pHluorin2-PTS1 sensor is a tool that is better at localizing to the glycosome than chemical pH probes in this life stage. It's user friendly, as you only need to induce expression of the pH sensor overnight, and the cells will make and localize pHluorin2 to the glycosome.

Using flow cytometry to measure pHluorin2 increases throughput and improves statistical measurements compared to microscopy.