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Abstracts
Workgroup: Frontiers in Disease Research
The Molecular Basis for the Etiology of the Oyster "Dermo" Disease: Gene Regulation Events Susceptible to Chemical Inhibition
Principal Investigator(s):
Gerardo R. Vasta, Center of Marine Biotechnology, Baltimore, MD, vasta@umbi.umd.edu
Co-Investigator(s):
Adam Marsh
Funding Period: 1995-96
We obtained support for the hypothesis that SOD is a virulence factor in P. marinus.
Elucidation of the effects of host serum and exogenous iron on the expression of superoxide dismutases, actin, protein phosphatase 1:
- Host serum induces SOD1 expression.
- Elevated iron induces SOD1 expression.
- SOD1 expression and actin expression are regulated by growth phase.
Important data were collected on the role of nucleotide metabolism in the proliferation of the parasite in vitro.
Exploration into the possibility that Perkinsus, like other intracellular protistan parasites, lacks some of the de novo purine biosynthetic machinery,
IMPACTS and/or BENEFITS:
As a virulence factor, SOD activity would be an appropriate target for the development of antiparasite chemotherapies.
The identification of iron and other as factors that contribute to proliferation opens up the possibility of inhibiting parasite growth. The possibility that exposure to high levels of iron pre-disposes the parasite to virulence.
Disruption of the nucleotide scavenging pathway of human parasites (trypanosomatids, Toxoplasma) is a promising strategy for antiparasite chemotherapy.
A thorough understanding of the factors and nutrients that P. marinus obtains and requires from the host (oyster) will both permit the design of additional intervention strategies, and is essential for understanding its pathogenicity.
Characterization of these first P. marinus protein-coding (in addition to rRNA) genes is fundamental for molecular genetic research towards developing interventions, and for elucidating the taxonomic position of the parasite.
PROJECT PUBLICATIONS:
Wright, A.C., Gauthier, J.D., Robledo, J.A.F., Vasta, G.R. Characterization of the actin genes from the oyster parasite Perkinsus marinus. In preparation.
Gauthier, J. D. 1998. Development of an in vitro culture system for Perkinsus marinus. Ph. D. dissertation. University of Maryland at College Park.
Harvell, C. D., Kim, K., Burkholder, J. M., Colwell, R. R., Epstein, P. R., Grimes, D. J., Hofmann, E. E., Lipp, E. K., Osterhaus, A. D. M. E., Overstreet, R. M., Porter, J. W., Smith, G. W. & Vasta, G. R. 1999. Emerging marine diseases--climate links and anthropogenic factors. Science 285, 1505-10.
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