菲律宾蛤仔防御素基因家族的多样性及功能分化研究

项目名称： 菲律宾蛤仔防御素基因家族的多样性及功能分化研究

项目编号： No.41476126

项目类型： 面上项目

立项/批准年度： 2015

项目学科： 天文学、地球科学

项目作者： 赵建民

作者单位： 中国科学院烟台海岸带研究所

项目金额： 93万元

中文摘要： 抗菌肽是一类具有广谱抗微生物活性的多肽，被认为是机体固有免疫的第一道防线。目前，海洋动物抗菌肽的研究仍以新型抗菌肽发掘、基因表达与调控、抗菌活性鉴定等内容为主，对抗菌肽基因的多样性和功能分化仍缺乏系统深入的研究。抗菌肽的分子多样性被认为是生物体的一种适应性进化机制，可使机体能够更好地适应环境和抵抗病原的侵袭。本研究以菲律宾蛤仔为研究对象，通过开展防御素基因家族的多样性和功能分化研究，解析不同亚型防御素分子的作用机制，阐释防御素基因家族的功能分化对机体固有免疫的影响途径；结合进化分析，探明菲律宾蛤仔体表微生物群落对防御素基因家族进化的驱动作用，为揭示防御素家族的分子进化机制提供科学依据。

中文关键词： 菲律宾蛤仔；防御素；多样性；功能分化

英文摘要： Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. They form an ancient non-specific type of innate immunity found universally in all living organisms and used as the principal first line of defense against the invading pathogen. Presently, most of the research on marine fauna was focused on identification of new AMPs and evaluation of their antimicrobial activities. However, the study on the molecular diversity and functional divergence of AMPs are still in its infancy. It was suggested that diversification of AMPs by accumulation of multiple variations around an originally unique form perhaps provided significant means of acquiring microbial target specificity, concerned in the evolutionary arms race between pathogens and their hosts. To gain insight into the molecular diversity of the defense gene family in Ruditapes philippinarum, we attempt to characterize the sequence variability and elucidate the evolutionary routes leading to such sequence diversification. Antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of defensins will also be compared to elucidate the biological significance of directional evolution on the innate immune system of Manila clam. Additionally, the diversity and composition of the bacterial communities on the skin of the individual clam will be determined via barcoded pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, and the co-evolution of defensins and microbe will be addressed.

英文关键词： Ruditapes philippinarum;defensin;molecular diversity;functional divergence