SPP 1399:  Host-Parasite Coevolution - Rapid Reciprocal Adaptation and its Genetic Basis

• Subject Area: Biology ; Medicine
• Term: from 2009 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 73111014

Coevolution is reciprocal genetic change in interacting species, owing to natural selection imposed by each on the other. Coevolution between hosts and their parasites (here including also bacteria and protozoa), in particular, is predicted to be dynamic and rapid, mainly because fitness costs caused by parasites are high, parasites are ubiquitous, and they often evolve rapidly due to short generation times. The unifying goal of this Priority Programme is to establish host-parasite coevolution as a powerful and versatile model for analysing the causes and processes of evolutionary adaptation, including direct observation of evolution in action.
The Priority Programme would integrate as yet isolated research efforts within Germany and link them to internationally renowned research groups (see advisory board). The Priority Programme is motivated by (1) an increasing international awareness that evolution is the core theory of biology and (2) the unprecedented opportunity to uncover the molecular basis of evolutionary change because of recent technological innovations and growing genomic databases.
The major objectives of this Priority Programme are to (1) study adaptation and counter-adaptation of hosts and parasites under different coevolutionary conditions in field and experimental laboratory settings, (2) identify important ecological and life-history constraints on host and parasite evolution, (3) determine molecular genetic causes of evolving immunity and virulence, (4) identify how genetic variability within host and parasite populations is generated and maintained.
Integration among projects within the Priority Programme will be achieved through a web-based support platform that will include databases, tailor made interfaces and analysis pipelines for genomic, proteomic and population genetic data. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the Priority Programme, the results are expected to impact other fields of study, for example the epidemiology of infectious disease, and rapid evolutionary change as a consequence of biological invasions and global change.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Czech Republic, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Projects

• Bioinformatics Infrastructure, Genomic and Transcriptomic Analyses (Applicant Bornberg-Bauer, Erich )
• Co-Evolution of Invasive Parasites with Old and New Host Species along a Gradient of Ancient to Recent Sympatry (Applicant Wegner, Mathias )
• Coevolution between Tribolium Castaneum and Bacillus Thuringiensis: On the Evolutionary Significance of Genetic Specificity and Specific Immunity. CLUSTER: "Experimental Evolution and Natural Variation of Bacillus-Invertebrate Interactions" (Applicant Kurtz, Joachim )
• Coevolution in simple and complex host-parasite systems. CLUSTER: "Evolutionary genetics of three-spined stickleback - parasite interactions" (Applicant Bakker, Theo )
• Dissecting the Mechanisms of Host-Parasite Coevolution Mediating Reciprocal Local Adaptation CLUSTER: "Evolutionary Genetics of Three-Spined Stickleback - Parasite Interactions" (Applicant Eizaguirre, Christophe )
• Evidence for Balancing Selection at Immunity Genes in Drosophila (Applicant Hutter, Stephan )
• Experimental Coevolution between C. Elegans and B. Thuringiensis CLUSTER: "Experimental Evolution and Natural Variation of Bacillus-Invertebrate Interactions" (Applicant Schulenburg, Hinrich )
• Experimental host-parasite coevolution in a changing environment (Applicants Berendonk, Thomas U. ;  Rauch, Gisep )
• Genomics Analysis Platform for the Bacillus-Invertebrate Cluster CLUSTER: "Experimental Evolution and Natural Variation of Bacillus-Invertebrate Interactions" (Applicants Rosenstiel, Ph.D., Philip Caspar ;  Schulenburg, Hinrich )
• Host adaptations on the molecular and transcriptional level driven by a fast evolving pathogen (Applicant Sommer, Simone )
• Host cell signalling and programmed cell death in Plasmodium liver stage prasites CLUSTER: "Parasite-host coevolution of programmed cell death" (Applicant Heussler, Volker Theo )
• Host Immune Strategies: Remembering, Resisting, Tolerating, and Being Specific (Applicant Armitage, Sophie )
• Host-Parasite Co-Evolution on Infection Networks: Effects of Parasite Sociobiology and Social Immunity (Applicant Telschow, Arndt )
• Host-Parasite Coevolution: Programme coordination an meta-analysis of Host-Parasite Coevolution (Applicant Kurtz, Joachim )
• Impaired trafficking and transfer of virulence factors to the surface of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes containing the hemoglobin polymorphisms HbS and HbC (Applicant Lanzer, Michael )
• 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" (Applicants Kalbe, Martin ;  Scharsack, Ph.D., Jörn Peter )
• Integrative Analysis of Genome, Transcriptome and Epigenome Data from Coevolved Bacillus Thuringiensis Strains CLUSTER: "Experimental Evolution and Natural Variation of Bacillus-Invertebrate Interactions" (Applicant Liesegang, Heiko )
• Intra-host Interactions of Bacillus thuringiensis Strains and Their Impact on Experimental Evolution with Caenorhabditis Elegans CLUSTER: "Experimental Evolution and Natural Variation of Bacillus-Invertebrate Interactions" (Applicant Schulte-Iserlohe, Rebecca )
• Molecular basis of genome interaction of the honeybee Apis mellifera with Nosema (Applicant Moritz, Robin F. A. )
• Natural and Experimental Coevolution between the Invasive Garden Ant and its Parasites CLUSTER: "Experimental evolution and natural variation of Bacillus-invertebrate interactions" (Applicant Cremer, Sylvia )
• Programme Coordination for the Priority Programme SPP 1399 on Host-Parasite Coevolution (Applicant Kurtz, Joachim )
• Red Queen Dynamics in Daphnia; Revealing the Evolutionary Change in a Parasite Population (Applicant Wolinska, Justyna )
• Role of Epigenetic Mechanisms in Host-Pathogen-Coevolution (Applicant Vilcinskas, Andreas )
• Selective Pressure on Internal vs. External Immune Defence in Tribolium Castaneum - Experimental Evolution Using a Microsporidian and a Fungal Parasite (Applicant Joop, Gerrit Frauke )
• Transcriptomic Analysis of Resistance and Virulence in Stickleback Host-Parasite Systems CLUSTER: "Evolutionary Genetics of Three-Spined Stickleback - Parasite Interactions" (Applicants Bornberg-Bauer, Erich ;  Reusch, Ph.D., Thorsten ;  Stoll, Monika )
• Virulence Factors and Resistance Genes in the Ecological Relationship between Toxoplasma Gondii and Mus Musculus (Applicant Howard, Jonathan Charles )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Joachim Kurtz