Nearly a quarter of all red-algal species occur as parasites of other red algae. Previous NSF-supported research by Dr. Lynda Goff and her colleagues has established that parasites form direct cellular connections with host cells, and may in the process transfer their nucleus into host cells. Dr. Goff, at the Santa Cruz campus of the University of California, will continue to study the process of parasite nucleus transfer and the subsequent cytology and developmental events that occur in the host's transformed cells. In addition, Dr. Goff will analyze plastid DNA using restriction endonuclease techniques to determine the phylogenetic relationships between host species and parasites, in a pioneering application of these new molecular phylogenetic methods with red algae. This research will thus advance understanding of basic cellular interactions in a novel system of red algae, and will add powerful new tools of analysis to the problem of determining algal evolution.
