Research Starter Grant: VIRAL INDUCTION OF GROWTH ANOMALIES IN CORAL

珊瑚是珊瑚礁的重要组成部分，为成千上万的热带物种提供食物和栖息地。在过去的几十年里，疾病的爆发导致全球珊瑚数量大幅减少，但人们对感染珊瑚的病毒几乎一无所知。该项目将收集关于珊瑚中病毒类型的新数据，并评估病毒感染对珊瑚礁的影响。具体来说，研究人员将解决病毒（最明显的是疱疹样病毒）感染并导致太平洋珊瑚礁建筑珊瑚的肿瘤或生长异常（GAs）的假设。利用下一代基因组技术，研究人员将使用基因序列来比较和对比健康珊瑚中发现的病毒类型与肿瘤中包含的病毒类型。这种新方法不仅可以确定这些疾病是否是病毒感染和转化的结果，还可以生成一组未知病毒的新数据，并提供对病毒进化的深入了解。该项目还将提供数据，以便更好地告知政策制定者如何控制病毒爆发，包括限制感染和疾病在珊瑚上的传播。此外，先前鉴定的珊瑚病毒与人类疱疹病毒有远亲关系，这个持续的项目将有助于进一步评估疱疹病毒感染的功能和机制，包括它们如何感染组织并导致动物肿瘤形成。最后，该项目将开始培训几名年轻女科学家，作为其研究生教育的一部分;为她们提供开展研究的资金，并允许她们在国际和国内会议上介绍其工作。

Corals are important components of reefs, providing food and habitat to thousands of tropical species. In the last few decades, disease outbreaks have led to significant reductions in coral populations worldwide, yet almost nothing is known about the viruses that infect corals. This project will collect new data on the types of viruses in corals and evaluate the effects of viral infection on reefs. Specifically, the investigators will address the hypothesis that viruses (most notably herpes-like viruses) infect and cause tumors or growth anomalies (GAs) on Pacific reef building corals. Using next generation genomic technology, investigators will use gene sequences to compare and contrast the viral types found in healthy corals to those contained within tumors. This novel approach will not only determine if these diseases are the result of viral infection and transformation, but will also generate new data on a group of unknown viruses and provide insight into viral evolution. The project is will also provide data that can better inform policy makers about how to control viral outbreaks including limiting the spread of infection and disease on coral. Additionally, previously identified coral viruses are distantly related to human herpesviruses, and this continued project will help further evaluate the function and mechanism of herpes viral infection, including how they infect tissues and cause tumor formation in animals. Finally, this project will begin the training of several young female scientists as part of their graduate education; providing them funds to conduct their research and allowing them to present their work at international and domestic conferences.