Feeding Freeloaders

Dark, damp and undulating; three words that accurately describe the inside of your intestines. Not particularly appealing to most but very attractive to a whipworm. Over half a billion people are infected with whipworms; parasites, a few centimetres long, that set up home in our intestines and wreak havoc on our digestive systems. Current drug treatments are not very effective and the reasons why are unclear. Researchers now investigate whether whipworm biology has something to do with it, specifically a curious structure called the bacillary band (pictured). In a lab setting whipworms were found to need glucose to survive. Using a fluorescent glucose analogue (green) the team discovered that the bacillary band can absorb glucose through its pores (red circles). More experiments are on the cards to determine if this structure could also be involved in the absorption – and so effectiveness – of drugs targeting whipworms.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image by Tina V.A. Hansen and colleagues
• Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, September 2016