Collaborative Research: PBI: A survey of the tapeworms (Cestoda: Platyhelminthes) from the vertebrate bowels of the earth

一个由来自13个国家的22名绦虫专家组成的团队将在全球20个国家的陆地和水域收集脊椎动物（即鸟类、哺乳动物、鱼类、两栖动物和爬行动物、鲨鱼和鳐鱼）消化道中的绦虫。该项目可能会从以前未采样的脊椎动物和地理区域中产生大约1600到1700种新的科学绦虫。将生成1000个物种的DNA序列数据，进行分析，并将结果用于修订绦虫分类。现有的全球绦虫数据库将扩展到包括所有绦虫物种的描述，并增强以允许来自世界各地的数据输入。该项目网站将向公众提供有关新的和已知的绦虫物种的信息，并提供资源，包括世界各地博物馆提供的绦虫标本清单，帮助识别绦虫的关键，以及脊椎动物及其绦虫的清单。该项目将包括4名博士后、4名研究生和4名本科生，并将产生5本儿童读物，由“代言人”讲述，描述各种脊椎动物群体中绦虫的生活。该项目最终将导致对绦虫及其宿主的全球了解，这对于迄今为止的任何宿主/寄生虫系统都是前所未有的。

A team of 22 tapeworm experts from 13 countries will conduct collections of tapewormsfrom the digestive tracts of vertebrates (i.e, birds, mammals, fishes, amphibians andreptiles, and sharks and rays) on land and in the waters of 20 countries globally. Theproject will likely yield approximately 1,600 to 1,700 tapeworm species new to sciencefrom previously unsampled vertebrates and geographic regions. DNA sequence datawill be generated for 1,000 species, will be analyzed, and the results used to revisetapeworm classification. The existing Global Cestode Database will be expanded toinclude descriptions of all tapeworm species and enhanced to allow data entry fromanywhere in the world.The project website will provide public access to information on new and knowntapeworm species, and to resources including a list of tapeworm specimens available inmuseums around the world, keys to aid in the identification of tapeworms, andcheck-lists of vertebrates and their tapeworms. The project will include 4 post-docs, 4graduate and 4 undergraduate students, and will result in the generation of 5 children'sbooks, narrated by "spokesworms," describing life for tapeworms in the variousvertebrate groups. The project will ultimately lead to a global understanding oftapeworms and their hosts that is unprecedented for any host/parasite system to date.