Project description:In this study transcriptomic data of three life history stages of Orciraptor agilis was generated: 1) Gliding cells in absence of food ('gliding'), 2) Cells attached to the cell wall of its algal prey during perforation ('fattacking'), 3) Cells after acquisition of the algal plastid material ('digesting'). Furthermore, RNA-seq of the algal prey Mougeotia sp. was also performed. A de novo transcriptome assembly of the algal reads was performed in order to identify and substract algal reads of the Orciraptor samples by mapping the Orciraptor reads to the algal transcriptome. After this filtering step the remaining Orciraptor reads from all libraries were pooled for a de novo transcriptome assembly of Orciraptor agilis. This transcriptome was the basis for a comparative transcriptomic study in which transcript expression was compared between the three life history stages.
Project description:The fungal endophyte Pestalotiopsis sp. 9143 was found naturally infected with the endohyphal bacterium Luteibacter mycovicinis 9143. The fungus can be cured of the bacterium by culturing on antibiotics and the bacterium can be isolated from the fungus by culturing at high temperatures or mechanical disruption. This study investigates the transcriptomes of both partners cultured indepedently (axenically) and in coculture. The goal was to understand the changes in gene expression that accompany partner presence in order to identify genes and pathways that may facilitate the interaction.
