Surface Antigens As Recognition Signals for Larger Foraminiferan Hosts

有孔虫是海洋中有机碳的主要生产者和营养物质和碳酸盐的主要汇。虽然所有有孔虫都含有多种藻类共生体中的一种，但携带硅藻的大型有孔虫是这种共生现象的独特形式。然而，有孔虫广泛适应共生的生物学基础尚不清楚。该项目将测试几个可测试的假设，以了解这些海洋原生生物将特定藻类识别为内共生体和其他藻类识别为食物的分子基础。先前的研究已经确定有孔虫外壳外的纤维网是识别的接触部位。本项目的目的是比较内共生硅藻和自由生活硅藻的表面抗原，作为建立内共生或消化途径的初始步骤的可能识别位点。免疫化学技术将用于筛选硅藻与有孔虫相互作用中涉及的硅藻交叉反应抗原。

Foraminifera are major primary producers of organic carbon and sinks of nutrients and carbonate in ocean waters. Although all foraminifera contain one of a wide variety of algal symbionts, the diatom-bearing larger foraminifera are a unique form of the symbiotic phenomenon. However, the biological basis for the broad adaptation of foraminifera to symbiosis remains unknown. This project will test several testable hypotheses to understand the molecular basis whereby these marine protists recongnize specific algal species as endosymbionts and others as food. Previous research has already identified the fibrous net outside of the foraminifera shell as the contact site for recognition. The goal of this project is to compare the surface antigens of endosymbiotic and free-living diatoms as possible recognition sites for the initial steps in the pathways leading to the establishment of endosymbiosis or digestion. Immunochemical techniques will be used to screen cross-reactive antigens of diatoms that are involved in the interaction of diatoms with foraminifera.