Integrative Research Program in Marine Genomics

该项目提出了一项创新计划，利用基因组和生物化学方法研究与环境胁迫和病毒感染抗性相关的商业虾基因和基因产物。将开发和应用基因组学工具，如表达蛋白的功能分析（从表达序列标签或EST的比较分析中推导出来），以探索哪些基因参与抗性以及这些基因是如何调控的。初步的工作将集中在商业虾种的主机响应两种病毒病（TSV和WSSV），以后的方法可以应用到其他海洋物种以及。南卡罗来纳州医科大学、南卡罗来纳州自然资源部和国家海洋服务实验室的多机构研究人员网络将建立一个基于分子遗传学和蛋白质生化方法的专业知识的项目，以研究虾生理学的一个方面，即宿主反应。研究工作的方向是“功能基因组学”，即，通过基因的表达来检测和研究基因。这项工作提出了一个综合的方法来了解环境压力和病毒感染的综合和相互作用的影响，在养殖和野生虾种，重点是基因表达的研究，通过cDNA到mRNA（“EST”），并通过快速鉴定表达的蛋白质，使用基于质谱的蛋白质结构分析。目前的申请建议建立基础设施，以便：（1）集中努力于单一物种，为扩展到其他海洋物种奠定基础;（2）增加两名新的初级教员，以增强和补充分子生物学/基因组学和生物信息学方面的现有能力，从而提高竞争力;（3）开发生物信息学部分，为进一步的研究和研究生培训工作奠定基础，以及（4）与私营公司建立伙伴关系，将研究结果转让给商业利益。

This project lays out an innovative program to use genomic and biochemical approaches to investigate genes and gene products in commercial shrimp associated with their resistance to environmental stresses and viral infections. Genomics tools such as the functional analysis of expressed proteins (deduced from the comparative analysis of expressed sequence tags or ESTs) will be developed and applied to explore which genes are involved in resistance and how these genes are regulated. The initial work will focus on the host response of commercial shrimp species to two virus diseases (TSV and WSSV); later the methods may be applied to other marine species as well. A multi-institutional network of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, the SC Department of Natural Resources, and the National Ocean Services Laboratory will establish the program building on expertise already in place on molecular genetic and protein biochemical approaches to one aspect of shrimp physiology, namely, the host response. The research effort is directed towards "functional genomics," i.e., the detection and study of genes by virtue of their expression. The work presents an integrated approach for understanding the combined and interacting effects of environmental stresses and viral infection in both cultivated and wild shrimp species, focusing on gene expression as studies by cDNA to mRNA ("ESTs"), and by rapid identification of expressed proteins using mass spectrometry-based protein structure analysis. The current application proposes to put infrastructure in place to: (1) focus efforts on a single species which will lay the groundwork for expansion into other marine species; (2) increase competitiveness by hiring two new additional junior faculty to augment and complement existing capability in molecular biology/genomics and bioinformatics; (3) develop a bioinformatics component which will lay the groundwork for further research and graduate training efforts, and (4) form partnerships with private companies to transfer the findings for commercial interests.