Parasite-Host Nuclear Transfer and the Evolution of Parasitism in Red Algae

近四分之一的红藻是其他红藻的寄生虫。由Lynda Goff博士和她的同事先前支持的nsf研究已经确定寄生虫与宿主细胞形成直接的细胞连接，并可能在此过程中将其细胞核转移到宿主细胞中。加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的戈夫博士将继续研究寄生虫核转移的过程，以及随后在宿主转化细胞中发生的细胞学和发育事件。此外，Goff博士将使用限制性内切酶技术分析质体DNA，以确定宿主物种和寄生虫之间的系统发育关系，在红藻中开创性地应用这些新的分子系统发育方法。因此，这项研究将促进对红藻新系统中基本细胞相互作用的理解，并将为确定藻类进化的问题提供强大的新分析工具。

Nearly a quarter of all red-algal species occur as parasites of other red algae. Previous NSF-supported research by Dr. Lynda Goff and her colleagues has established that parasites form direct cellular connections with host cells, and may in the process transfer their nucleus into host cells. Dr. Goff, at the Santa Cruz campus of the University of California, will continue to study the process of parasite nucleus transfer and the subsequent cytology and developmental events that occur in the host's transformed cells. In addition, Dr. Goff will analyze plastid DNA using restriction endonuclease techniques to determine the phylogenetic relationships between host species and parasites, in a pioneering application of these new molecular phylogenetic methods with red algae. This research will thus advance understanding of basic cellular interactions in a novel system of red algae, and will add powerful new tools of analysis to the problem of determining algal evolution.