Collaborative Research: Biogenesis and evolution of hagfish slime and slime glands

合作研究：盲鳗粘液和粘液腺的生物发生和进化

• 批准号: 1755397
• 负责人: Douglas Fudge
• 金额: $ 42.01万
• 依托单位: Chapman University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1755397&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Biogenesis; evolution; hagfish

Hagfishes are a group of eel-shaped animals that are found in deep ocean habitats around the world. Hagfishes are notorious for their ability to thwart attacks by predators such as sharks by producing large volumes of gill-clogging slime in a fraction of a second after they are bitten. The slime is unique both in the speed with which it forms, and because it contains thousands of silk-like fibers known as slime threads. One aim of this project is to investigate how these 15-cm long fibers are produced within the cytoplasm of specialized cells called gland thread cells. To do this, researchers will observe developing gland thread cells using live cell microscope imaging techniques. The second aim of this project is to understand how the slime glands evolved and diversified. Hagfishes are an ancient group of about 78 described species, and the two species we have examined thus far have defensive slime that differs in significant ways. To explore the evolution and diversification of hagfishes and their slime glands, researchers will collect anatomical and genetic data from many hagfish species from around the world. Hagfish slime threads have material properties that rival those of high performance spider silks; understanding how they are made within cells could thus provide valuable information for efforts to produce bio-inspired textiles. Furthermore, this project dovetails with a summer outreach program called "Inspiring Biology", which aims to increase enthusiasm and participation in the sciences by under-represented minorities by introducing them to the concept of bio-inspired design.Hagfishes are a group of 78 species of marine craniates that are important players in benthic ecosystems worldwide. One of their most remarkable adaptations is their ability to thwart attacks by fish predators by producing large volumes of gill-clogging slime in a fraction of a second. The slime consists of a synergistic mixture of seawater, mucus-like glycoproteins, and thousands of silk-like protein fibers known as "slime threads". While much is known about the function and mechanical properties of the slime, little is known about how the major slime components are produced within the slime glands or how the slime glands evolved. The project has two Aims. First, researchers will elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in slime thread production within hagfish gland thread cells. Specifically, several mechanistic hypotheses about how the slime thread elongates, coils, and matures within these cells will be tested. Second, the researchers will elucidate the evolutionary origins and diversification of hagfish slime glands. Specifically, they will test the hypotheses that the slime glands arose from invagination of the skin, or that they are serial homologs of cloacal glands and evolved via metameric duplication and modification. To achieve these aims, they will use an approach that integrates cell biological, morphological, and comparative transcriptomic and phylogenetic methods. These experiments will identify the genes that are most important for slime production and they will illuminate the proximate and ultimate mechanisms involved in the origins of an evolutionary novelty unique to hagfishes and central to their organismal biology.This award was co-funded by the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems and the Cellular Dynamics and Function Program in the Division of Molecular and Cell Biology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

盲鳗是一组鳗鱼形状的动物，在世界各地的深海栖息地发现。盲鳗因其能够在被咬后的几分之一秒内产生大量堵塞鳃的粘液来阻止鲨鱼等掠食者的攻击而臭名昭著。这种黏液的独特之处在于它形成的速度，以及它含有数千种被称为黏液丝的丝状纤维。该项目的一个目的是研究这些15厘米长的纤维是如何在称为腺丝细胞的专门细胞的细胞质中产生的。为此，研究人员将使用活细胞显微镜成像技术观察发育中的腺丝细胞。这个项目的第二个目的是了解粘液腺是如何进化和多样化的。盲鳗是一个古老的群体，大约有78种被描述的物种，到目前为止，我们所研究的两个物种都有不同的防御粘液。为了探索盲鳗及其粘液腺的进化和多样化，研究人员将收集来自世界各地的许多盲鳗物种的解剖和遗传数据。八目鳗粘液丝的材料特性与高性能蜘蛛丝不相上下;因此，了解它们在细胞内是如何制造的可以为生产生物灵感纺织品提供有价值的信息。此外，该项目的结尾是一个名为“启发生物学”的夏季推广计划，旨在通过向未被充分代表的少数群体介绍生物启发设计的概念，提高他们对科学的热情和参与。盲鳗是一个由78种海洋头盖骨组成的群体，是全球底栖生态系统的重要参与者。它们最显著的适应性之一是，它们能够在几分之一秒内产生大量堵塞鳃的粘液，从而阻止鱼类捕食者的攻击。这种黏液由海水、黏液样糖蛋白和数千种被称为“黏液丝”的丝状蛋白质纤维的协同混合物组成。虽然对粘液的功能和机械特性了解很多，但对粘液腺内主要粘液成分的产生方式或粘液腺的进化方式知之甚少。该项目有两个目标。首先，研究人员将阐明在盲鳗腺丝细胞内粘液丝生产所涉及的细胞和分子机制。具体来说，几个关于粘液丝如何在这些细胞内伸长、卷曲和成熟的机制假说将被测试。其次，研究人员将阐明盲鳗粘液腺的进化起源和多样化。具体来说，他们将测试粘液腺起源于皮肤内陷的假设，或者它们是泄殖腔腺的系列同源物，并通过同色异谱复制和修饰进化而来。为了实现这些目标，他们将使用一种整合细胞生物学，形态学和比较转录组学和系统发育方法的方法。这些实验将确定对粘液产生最重要的基因，并阐明八目鳗独特的进化新奇的起源所涉及的近端和最终机制，以及它们的有机生物学的核心。由综合有机系统部的生理机制和生物力学计划以及分子生物学部的细胞动力学和功能计划资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Evolution of a remarkable intracellular polymer and extreme cell allometry in hagfishes

盲鳗中非凡的细胞内聚合物和极端细胞异速生长的进化

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.066
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Current Biology
• 影响因子: 9.2
• 作者: Zeng, Yu;Petrichko, Skylar;Nieders, Kristen;Plachetzki, David;Fudge, Douglas
• 通讯作者: Fudge, Douglas

Review of the hagfishes (Myxinidae) from the Galapagos Islands, with descriptions of four new species and their phylogenetic relationships

加拉帕戈斯群岛盲鳗（Myxinidae）的回顾，包括四个新物种及其系统发育关系的描述

• DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa178
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Zoological journal of the Linnean Society
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: Mincarone, M;Plachetzki, D;McCord, C;Winegard, T;Fernholm, B;Gonzalez, C;Fudge, D
• 通讯作者: Fudge, D

Mechanisms of gill-clogging by hagfish slime

盲鳗粘液堵塞鳃的机制

• DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0774
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Journal of The Royal Society Interface
• 影响因子: 3.9
• 作者: Taylor, Luke;Chaudhary, Gaurav;Jain, Gaurav;Lowe, Andrew;Hupe, Andre;Negishi, Atsuko;Zeng, Yu;Ewoldt, Randy H.;Fudge, Douglas S.
• 通讯作者: Fudge, Douglas S.

Comparative Animal Mucomics: Inspiration for Functional Materials from Ubiquitous and Understudied Biopolymers

• DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00713
• 发表时间: 2020-10-01
• 期刊: ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
• 影响因子: 5.8
• 作者: Cerullo, Antonio R.;Lai, Tsoi Ying;Braunschweig, Adam B.
• 通讯作者: Braunschweig, Adam B.