ICOB: Molecular and morphological characterization of polar capsules in the parasitic Myxozoa

黏液动物是一种高度多样化但尚未得到充分研究的寄生虫。它们是微小的动物，仅由几个细胞组成，但具有复杂的生命周期，通常在感染环节动物和鱼之间交替。众所周知，黏液虫会对水产养殖造成损害，这可能会造成严重的经济后果，但人们对它们感染宿主的能力背后的机制知之甚少。最近利用DNA序列数据进行的研究提供了黏液动物与刺胞动物（水母、珊瑚和海葵）有关的证据。虽然从表面上看，这些微小的寄生虫与刺胞动物没有任何相似之处，但它们具有相似的复杂细胞内结构。在黏液动物中，这种结构被称为极囊，用于附着在宿主上进行感染。极囊与被称为刺丝囊的针胞刺结构有着惊人的相似之处。该项目将使用新一代测序技术生成几个黏液动物物种的全基因组和转录组数据。该数据将存储到NCBI序列读取归档http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra中。该研究将整合新生成的黏液动物极性囊的基因组和超微结构数据与现有的刺胞线虫囊数据，以阐明关于黏液动物极性囊的起源和功能的长期存在的问题。这将通过提供一个比较框架来完成，在已知的刺丝囊结构和功能的背景下研究极性胶囊。该项目的合作结合了黏液动物生物学、刺胞动物系统学、发育和基因组学方面的专业知识。它标志着以色列和美国研究团队在黏液动物研究方面富有成效和长期国际合作的开始。本项目将培养黏液动物生物学方向的2名学生和1名博士后。美国学员将在以色列实验室待上一段时间，而以色列学生将在美国实验室接受培训。

Myxozoans are a highly diverse yet understudied group of parasites. They are microscopic animals that consist of just a few cells yet have a complex life cycle that typically alternates between infecting an annelid and a fish. Myxozoans are known to cause damage to fish aquaculture, which can have severe economical consequences, yet little is known about the mechanisms underlying their ability to infect their hosts. Recent studies using DNA sequence data have provided evidence that myxozoans are related to cnidarians (jellyfish, corals and sea anemones). Although superficially, these microscopic parasites do not bear any resemblance to cnidarians, they have a similar complex intracellular structure. In myxozoans this structure is called a polar capsule and is used to attach to its host for infection. The polar capsule bears a striking resemblance to the cnidarian stinging structure called a nematocyst. This project will generate whole genome and transcriptome data from several myxozoan species using next generation sequencing technologies. This data will be deposited into the NCBI sequence read archive http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra. The research will integrate newly generated genomic and ultrastructural data from myxozoan polar capsules with existing data on cnidarian nematocysts, in order to shed light on long standing questions regarding the origin and function of myxozoan polar capsules. This will be accomplished by providing a comparative framework with which to study polar capsules in the context of what is known of nematocyst structure and function. This project's collaboration combines expertise in myxozoan biology, cnidarian systematics, development, and genomics. It marks the beginning of a productive and long-term international collaboration in myxozoan research between the Israeli and US research teams. This project will train two students and a postdoctoral researcher in myxozoan biology. The US trainees will spend time with the Israeli lab and the Israeli student will train in the US lab.