Influence of Biotic and Abiotic Stressors on the Coevolution of the Tapeworm Schistocephalus Solidus with Its Specific Host, the Three-Spined Stickleback

CLUSTER: „Evolutionary genetics of three-spined stickleback – parasite interactions“

Dr. Martin Kalbe

Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionsbiologie 
Abteilung Evolutionsökologie
Plön

Dr. Jörn Peter Scharsack

PhD students:

• Noémie Erin,
• Frederik Franke

For the second funding period, we plan to focus more on the parasite, in particular the ability of S. solidus to manipulate the immune system of its stickleback host. Previous experiments showed that S. solidus from different locations differ substantially in infection success and host exploitation. Consequently differences in immune- modulatory capabilities of parasites from different locations are expected. As a major read out we plan to use transcriptome sequencing in cooperation with the project of Stoll/Reusch/Bornberg-Bauer. As a backbone for the annotation of the transcriptome sequences, cDNA libraries of S. solidus established by Samonte-Padilla et al. will be used. The transcriptomic data will be linked to a S. solidus genome project initiated by J. Cotton (Sanger Institute) and K. Brehm (Uni Würzburg). Parasite and host transcriptomes will be analysed in parallel, enabling to investigate the host-parasite interactome on RNA level. Despite the comparison of differentially adapted S. solidus populations, we plan to use environmental stressors as experimental variables.

1. Co-infections with other sympatric and allopatric parasite species, since previous experiments showed that S. solidus is able to induce concomitant immunity (experiments in Plön); and
2. Temperature variation based on previous experiments indicating that immune manipulation of S. solidus is temperature depended (experiments in Münster). Both these environmental variables interfere with the host’s immune system and cause selective pressure on S. solidus. Main goals of the projects are to investigate the transcriptomics background of host manipulation induced by S. solidus and to unravel potential interaction(s) of host manipulation with environmental stressors.