International Research Fellowship Program: Experimental Determination of Lifecycles of Cestode Parasites of Elasmobranchs Using DNA Sequence Data

国际研究员奖励计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行三到二十四个月的研究。该计划的奖励为联合研究提供了机会，并利用独特或互补的设施、专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将为Gaines Tyler博士和Thomas H. Cribb博士在澳大利亚布里斯班昆士兰大学的工作提供12个月的支持。该项目将确定9-12种绦虫（最终宿主）的生命周期。来自成年标本的DNA序列将用于构建一个文库。将幼虫的DNA序列与文库中的序列进行比较，确定幼虫的发育阶段。通过确定成虫和幼虫的寄主，将确定生命周期的最后阶段。本项目将探讨这些寄生物种中寄主关系的特异性。绦虫的生命周期尚不清楚，该项目将扩展我们的知识。该研究地点位于澳大利亚的大堡礁，这里拥有世界上最丰富的板鳃类之一。克里布博士在利用分子技术分析扁虫生命周期方面有着丰富的经验。

0107384TylerThe International Research Fellow Awards Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will provide twelve months of support to Dr. Gaines Tyler to work with Dr. Thomas H. Cribb at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.This project will determine life-cycles for 9-12 species of tapeworms from elasmobranches (final hosts). DNA sequences from adult specimens will be used to construct a library. Larval stages will be identified by comparing their DNA sequences to sequences in the library. By identifying hosts for both adult and larva, the final stage of the life-cycle will be determined. This project will address the specificity of parasite-host relationships in these cestode species. The life cycles of tapeworms in elasmobranches are poorly known and this project will extend our knowledge.The research site, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, hosts one of the greatest diversities of elasmobranches in the world. Dr. Cribb has extensive experience in the resolution of flatworm life-cycles using molecular techniques.