Distinct self-organized actin patterns explain diverse parasite gliding modes

During host infection, single-celled apicomplexan parasites like Plasmodium and Toxoplasma use a unique form of locomotion called gliding that differs fundamentally from the swim-or-crawl paradigm eukaryotic cell motility. Gliding is powered by thin layer actin specialized myosin sandwiched between plasma membrane an inner membranous scaffold. How this actomyosin network organized to generate coherent traction forces, drive diverse movements observed during gliding? Here, we used single-molecule imaging track individual filaments complexes in living gondii.