Understanding the genome-phenotype relationship of host-parasite interactions across a complex life-cycle

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The transition from free-living organism to parasite is one of the most frequent shifts in life strategy. To ensure survival of the species, parasites have evolved systems that promote their transmission from one host to another. Many parasites manipulate their hosts by altering host behaviour, which increases the likelihood of predation of the current host by the next host. It is likely that the host's altered phenotype is due to the expression of the parasite's genes, rather than its own genes. Richard Dawkins coined the phrase the `extended phenotype' to describe the influence of genes beyond their organism. Here, the behaviour of the host is the extended phenotype of the parasite's genes. The long-term objectives of my research program are to: i) identify the molecular mechanisms by which the parasite manipulates its hosts, and ii) discover the evolutionary mechanisms by which parasite's genome adapts to its host. The lancet liver fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, is a parasitic species of Platyhelminthes worm. This trematode has a three-host life-cycle involving a snail, ant, and mammal. My proposal focus on an iconic example of behavioural manipulation, that of the ant by the parasite. In cool ambient temperatures, infected ants cease foraging and climb to the top of grass or flowers and firmly fix themselves with their mandibles. When infecting the ant, the majority of the larval D. dendriticum reside in the abdomen: A single larva migrates and encysts at the base of the ant's brain and is likely responsible for the altered behaviour. This increases the likelihood of being eaten by a grazing mammal, the next host. The molecular mechanisms through which D. dendriticum manipulates the ant's behaviour await discovery. Using a combination of genomics, bioinformatics and parasitological approaches, my research program examines changes in the ant brain and brain-encysted parasite at the transcript, protein and hormone level. Candidate biomolecules will be validated by inducing an uninfected ant to fix on a flower or an infected ant to continue foraging. At the genome-level, we will identify the adaptive processes of genes involved in the manipulation. Gene duplications in multi-gene families lead to new genes which can be released from selection pressures and result in new functions. The convergence of short protein motifs, which mediate protein-protein interactions, are increasingly implicated in the mimicry of host proteins by a parasite. Finally, horizontal gene transfer between host and parasite is emerging as an important mechanism for host-parasite interactions. Overall, my research proposal aims to significantly improve our understanding of how parasites interact with their hosts at the molecular level and describe the mechanisms by which the genome evolves to adapt to a new host. This work has implications beyond parasitology, including: i) genome adaption to new environments, and ii) the molecular basis of behavioural manipulation.