Energetics of the Microsporidian Polar Tube Invasion Machinery.

m/sec), penetrating host cells and acting as a conduit for the transport of infectious cargo. Although this process has fascinated biologists for a century, the biophysical mechanisms underlying PT extrusion are not understood. We thus take a data-driven approach to generate models for the physical basis of PT firing and cargo transport through the PT. Our approach here demonstrates the extreme limits of cellular hydraulics and the potential applications of biophysical approaches to other cellular architectures.