Genetic and immunologic basis of pathogenic and mutualistic interactions between bacteria and their ant hosts

该项目旨在阐明一种社会性昆虫，木蚁的先天免疫系统的基本特征。特别强调的是它区分致病细菌和有益细菌的模式，从而避免有害细菌的生长，同时允许必要的专性细胞内共生菌Blochmannia定植。此外，互惠共生在宿主免疫反应调节中的可能作用将被研究。基于这些实验，本提案的主要目标是生成一个关于蚂蚁免疫反应系统生物学的综合模型。

The project aims at elucidating basic features of the innate immune system of a social insect, the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. A special emphasis is placed on its mode of discrimination between pathogenic and beneficial bacteria, thereby avoiding the growth of harmful bacteria while allowing colonization by the essential obligate intracellular mutualist Blochmannia. Moreover, a possible role of the mutualists in the modulation of the immune response of the host will be investigated. Based on these experiments a major goal of this proposal is to generate a comprehensive model regarding the systems biology of the ant`s immune response.