The essence of being an animal: sponge allorecognition and the evolution of individuality

人类基因组编码了在细胞水平上识别自我和非我的能力。在医学上，这种与生俱来的能力会导致对无关个体移植(移植)的组织产生排斥反应。这个项目试图通过一个简单易处理的模型--来自大堡礁的海绵--研究这一过程，从而获得自我非我识别的进化基础。像人类一样，海绵排斥来自另一个个体的细胞和组织。通过定义海绵自我识别的遗传基础，我们揭示了这一系统的古老以及组织相容性和免疫的核心特征。这样的洞察力可以为一系列再生医学研究提供信息。

The human genome encodes the ability to recognise self from nonself at the cellular level. In medicine, this innate ability results in the rejection of transplanted (grafted) tissues from unrelated individuals. This project seeks to get to the evolutionary foundation of self-nonself recognition by studying this process in a simple and tractable model - a sponge from the Great Barrier Reef. Like humans, sponges reject cells and tissues derived from another individual. By defining the genetic basis of self-recognition in sponges we reveal the antiquity of this system and the core features of histocompatibility and immunity. Such insights can inform a range of regenerative medical pursuits.