Description du projet
Aperçu moléculaire des parasites de l’abeille
Les abeilles mellifères pollinisent de nombreuses cultures agricoles. Leur santé a donc des implications écologiques et économiques considérables. Des parasites comme Lotmaria passim, ainsi que d’autres facteurs de stress comme les pesticides et la perte d’habitat, contribuent au déclin des populations d’abeilles mellifères. Malgré leur importance, les mécanismes moléculaires de survie de Lotmaria passim à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur de son hôte restent insaisissables. Financé par le programme Actions Marie Skłodowska-Curie, le projet ROLEPS vise à délimiter le rôle des substances polymériques extracellulaires (SPE) sécrétées par Lotmaria passim dans la résilience des parasites et la santé des abeilles. Les chercheurs identifieront les gènes impliqués dans la sécrétion de SPE et le rôle de la formation de biofilms sur les abeilles. Les résultats du projet feront progresser la parasitologie des abeilles et ouvriront la voie à de nouveaux traitements antiparasitaires ciblés.
Objectif
Lotmaria passim is a trypanosomatid parasite of bees, highly prevalent in honeybee colonies, considered a major factor in colony loss. Yet, the molecular mechanisms it uses to survive both inside and outside its host are unknown. Preliminary studies showed that L.passim secretes extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and differentiates into surface attached colonies mimicking the mechanism of bacterial biofilm formation. EPS provides environmental resistance to changing and extreme physicochemical conditions (e.g. in bacteria). Thus, I hypothesise that EPS confers resistance to L.passim and have an active role in the bee gut. In ROLEPS I aim to explore the role of EPS secretion and the mechanisms of biofilm formation in the prevalence and resilience of L.passim chasing three objectives: i) study the response of L.passim biofilms to biotic and abiotic stressors, ii) identify the genes involved in EPS secretion and the developmental differentiation into biofilms using CRISPR/Cas9, and iii) explore the function of EPS in honey bee health. ROLEPS will be developed at the University of Granada (Spain), within the Biochemistry and Molecular Parasitology group lead by Prof. de Pablos, who has developed a protocol to isolate trypanosomatid strains from field isolates, optimized the isolation of the secretome of trypanosomatids and settled all the facilities for genetic engineering assays. A secondment is planned at the Centro de Investigación Apícola y Agroambiental (CIAPA) in Marchamalo (Spain), supervised by Dr. Higes, expert on bee health. ROLEPS is an innovative project as it will analyse for the first time the role of EPS and biofilms in a trypanosomatid parasite of bees, it will integrate genetic engineering in the field of bee parasitology and test parasite-secreting substances as protection against contaminants in bees. ROLEPS is fully achievable due to the easy handling of the model organisms. Thus, I expect ROLEPS has important repercussions in bee health.
Champ scientifique
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinateur
18071 Granada
Espagne