Novel molecular factors in nematocyst assembly and morphogenesis

线虫线囊是动物界中最复杂的细胞器，用于捕食和防御。它的超快、鱼叉状的放电伴随着毒素的释放，需要具有不同寻常的生物力学特性的分子因素。我们先前对水母线虫包囊蛋白质组的分析揭示了组成线虫包囊的400多个分子因子。其中，我们详细描述了微胶原家族和弹性蛋白cnidoin，它们共同负责在放电过程中的高结构弹性和动能释放。目前的项目建议是建立在我们之前建立的假设基础上的，即刺细胞器构成一种专门的细胞外基质。为了推翻这一假说，我们将通过进化和功能研究来分析海葵线虫的线囊和中胚层之间的共同蛋白质组。此外，我们还将重点介绍线囊小管结构的分子构型和形态发生中的新因素。在这方面，我们还将重新定义NOWA的作用，它以前被确定为囊壁抗原。

The cnidarian nematocyst, used for predation and defense, is the most complex organelle in the animal kingdom. Its ultra-fast, harpoon-like discharge, which is accompanied by a release of toxins, requires molecular factors with unusual biomechanical properties. Our previous analysis of the Hydra nematocyst proteome revealed more than 400 molecular factors constituting the nematocyst. Among these, we have characterized in detail the family of minicollagens and the elastic protein Cnidoin, which in concert are responsible for the high structural resilience and kinetic energy release during the discharge process. The present project proposal is founded on our previously established hypothesis that the cnidarian stinging organelle constitutes a specialized extracellular matrix. To undermine this hypothesis, we will analyze by evolutionary and functional studies the shared proteome between nematocysts and the mesoglea in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. In addition, we will focus on novel factors in the molecular patterning and morphogenesis of the nematocyst tubule structure. In this context, we will also redefine the role of NOWA, which was formerly identified as a capsule wall antigen.