Characterizing the molecular regulators of stem cell populations during homeostasis and regeneration in Hydractinia, an emerging cnidarian research organism

项目摘要/摘要： 研究概述：我实验室的研究重点是海洋再生生物学，特别是茎 细胞介导的再生。我们研究的生物是水生动物共生放线虫。 水龙是一种群居无脊椎动物，它进化出了一种非凡的干细胞系统，令人惊叹 再生能力。这种动物可以在一生中再生所有的组织，这要归功于 它的迁移干细胞，也就是所谓的I细胞的周转。I-细胞群体在功能上是不同的， 最近，基于细胞的快周期和慢周期的I细胞亚群已经被识别出来 周期特征。与合作者一起，我们最近对Hydractinia进行了测序和组装 并创造了荧光转基因品系。我们创造的基因组资源和 目前存在的和正在开发的用于基因功能丧失和功能获得的功能性分子工具 实验正在开创水龙藻研究的新纪元。 未来五年的目标：我们的第一个目标是成功地从 水龙藻。一旦实现了这一点，我们将努力确定i-cell次级的基本性质。 使用全球单细胞转录图谱(Single Cell RNAseq)的种群，随后仔细研究功能 基因实验。我们将致力于描述控制i-cell维护的潜在机制 在动态平衡期间和在再生期间展开。 总体愿景：我的总体愿景是通过以下方式为再生医学领域做出重大贡献 使水生生物成为干细胞和再生研究的令人兴奋的新研究有机体。 Hydractinia具有体积小、透明度高、世代时间短和容易等特点 获得胚胎，这使其成为模式生物发展的理想选择。作为少数几个高度 可以很容易地在实验室培养、繁殖和操作的再生动物，Hydractinia准备 帮助我们解开控制干细胞静止和增殖的奥秘和机制。我们的研究 将在正常组织动态平衡的背景下和在不同的 再生的分子和细胞事件。一个主要的长期目标是提供一种手段，特别是 靶向并激活体内静止的干细胞以增强组织再生，最终可能应用于 对人类细胞来说。

Project Summary/Abstract: Overview of research: Research in my lab centers on marine regenerative biology and specifically on stem cell-mediated regeneration. Our research organism is the hydrozoan cnidarian Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus. Hydractinia is a colonial invertebrate that has evolved a remarkable stem cell system and an astonishing capacity for regeneration. This animal can regenerate all of its tissues throughout life, owing to the constant turnover of its migratory stem cells, known as i-cells. The i-cell population is functionally heterogeneous and recently, fast-cycling and slow-cycling ‘quiescent’ sub-populations of i-cells have been identified based on cell cycle characteristics. Together with collaborators, we recently sequenced and assembled the Hydractinia genome and have created fluorescent transgenic lines. The genomic resources we have created and the functional molecular tools that currently exist and are under development for gene loss- and gain-of-function experimentation are enabling a new era of Hydractinia research. Goals for next five years: Our first goal is to successfully isolate purified sub-populations of stem cells from Hydractinia. Once this is achieved, we will work to characterize the essential nature of the i-cell sub- populations using global single cell transcriptional profiling (single cell RNAseq), followed by careful functional genetic experimentation. We will aim to characterize the underlying mechanisms governing i-cell maintenance during homeostasis and deployment during regeneration. Overall vision: My overall vision is to significantly contribute to the field of regenerative medicine by establishing Hydractinia as an exciting new research organism for stem cell and regeneration research. Hydractinia has a combination of traits such as small size, transparency, short generation times, and easy access to embryos that make it ideal for model organism development. As one of a handful of highly regenerative animals that can be easily cultured, spawned, and manipulated in the lab, Hydractinia is poised to help us unlock the mysteries and mechanisms that govern stem cell quiescence and proliferation. Our studies will characterize stem cell function in the contexts of normal tissue homeostasis and throughout the diverse molecular and cellular events of regeneration. One major long-term goal is to provide a means to specifically target and activate quiescent stem cells in vivo to enhance tissue regeneration that may ultimately be applied to human cells.