ICOB: Molecular and morphological characterization of polar capsules in the parasitic Myxozoa

ICOB：寄生粘虫极性胶囊的分子和形态特征

• 批准号: 1321759
• 负责人: Paulyn Cartwright
• 金额: $ 24.99万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-15 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1321759&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ICOB; Molecular; morphological; characterization; polar

Myxozoans are a highly diverse yet understudied group of parasites. They are microscopic animals that consist of just a few cells yet have a complex life cycle that typically alternates between infecting an annelid and a fish. Myxozoans are known to cause damage to fish aquaculture, which can have severe economical consequences, yet little is known about the mechanisms underlying their ability to infect their hosts. Recent studies using DNA sequence data have provided evidence that myxozoans are related to cnidarians (jellyfish, corals and sea anemones). Although superficially, these microscopic parasites do not bear any resemblance to cnidarians, they have a similar complex intracellular structure. In myxozoans this structure is called a polar capsule and is used to attach to its host for infection. The polar capsule bears a striking resemblance to the cnidarian stinging structure called a nematocyst. This project will generate whole genome and transcriptome data from several myxozoan species using next generation sequencing technologies. This data will be deposited into the NCBI sequence read archive http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra. The research will integrate newly generated genomic and ultrastructural data from myxozoan polar capsules with existing data on cnidarian nematocysts, in order to shed light on long standing questions regarding the origin and function of myxozoan polar capsules. This will be accomplished by providing a comparative framework with which to study polar capsules in the context of what is known of nematocyst structure and function. This project's collaboration combines expertise in myxozoan biology, cnidarian systematics, development, and genomics. It marks the beginning of a productive and long-term international collaboration in myxozoan research between the Israeli and US research teams. This project will train two students and a postdoctoral researcher in myxozoan biology. The US trainees will spend time with the Israeli lab and the Israeli student will train in the US lab.

粘虫是一种高度多样化但尚未得到充分研究的寄生虫群体。 它们是微小的动物，仅由几个细胞组成，但具有复杂的生命周期，通常在感染环节动物和鱼类之间交替。众所周知，粘虫会对鱼类水产养殖造成损害，从而产生严重的经济后果，但人们对其感染宿主能力的机制知之甚少。最近使用 DNA 序列数据进行的研究提供了证据，表明粘体动物与刺胞动物（水母、珊瑚和海葵）有亲缘关系。 尽管从表面上看，这些微小的寄生虫与刺胞动物没有任何相似之处，但它们具有相似的复杂细胞内结构。 在粘虫中，这种结构称为极囊，用于附着在宿主上进行感染。 极囊与刺胞动物的刺丝结构极为相似，称为刺丝囊。该项目将使用下一代测序技术生成多个粘虫物种的全基因组和转录组数据。 该数据将存入 NCBI 序列读取档案 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra。 该研究将把来自粘虫极囊的新生成的基因组和超微结构数据与刺胞动物刺丝囊的现有数据整合起来，以阐明有关粘虫极囊的起源和功能的长期存在的问题。 这将通过提供一个比较框架来实现，利用该框架在已知的线虫囊结构和功能的背景下研究极性胶囊。该项目的合作结合了粘虫生物学、刺胞动物系统学、发育和基因组学方面的专业知识。它标志着以色列和美国研究团队之间在粘虫研究方面富有成效的长期国际合作的开始。 该项目将培训两名粘虫生物学学生和一名博士后研究员。美国学员将在以色列实验室度过一段时间，以色列学生将在美国实验室接受培训。