Orientador: Katia Denise Saraiva Bresciani / Resumo: Os protozoários do gênero Cryptosporidium spp. são parasitos intracelulares obrigatórios, pertencentes ao filo Apicomplexa. Estes parasitos são capazes de se desenvolver nas microvilosidades das células epiteliais do intestino delgado de hospedeiros vertebrados, sendo potencialmente letais em adultos e crianças imunodeficientes. Não existem medicamentos eficazes para controlar essa doença e o desenvolvimento de medicamentos é dificultado pela falta de métodos de cultura eficazes que atuam permitindo detecção completa do ciclo de vida do parasito. Uma lacuna fundamental existe em relação ao entendimento de como os esporozoítos de Cryptosporidium spp. interagem com as células para iniciar a invasão e sua replicação. Assim, foi estudada essa lacuna para explicar a distinção entre aspectos da biologia do Cryptosporidium spp. e a especificidade do hospedeiro. Por meio de um ensaio de imunofluorescência detectou-se separadamente parasitos ligados e que invadiram às células e qual foi sua evolução ao longo de 2, 24 e 48 horas do parasitismo nas células hospedeiras. Com base nos genes mais significativos nas análises LDA (análise linear discriminante) e RDA (análise de redundância) e com maior valor FPKM (fragmentos por quilobase de transcritos por milhão de leituras mapeadas), pode-se perceber uma diferença significativa na expressão gênica desse parasito extracelular e intracelular. Os genes que mais se expressaram em células incubadas por 48 horas após a infecção foram analisados ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The protozoa of the genus Cryptosporidium spp. are obligate intracellular parasites that belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa. These parasites are capable to develop in the microvilli of epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract of vertebrate hosts, being potentially lethal in immunodeficient adults and children. There are no effective medications to control cryptosporidiosis, and drug development is hampered by the lack of effective culture methods that act to allow the complete life cycle of the parasite. It is fundamental to understand how Cryptosporidium spp. sporozoites interact with cells to initiate invasion and replication. Thus, this subject has been studied to explain the distinction between Cryptosporidium spp. biology and host specificity. By an immunofluorescence assay we detected bounded parasites invading host cells and their evolution over two, 24 and 48 hours. Based on the most significant genes in the LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis) and RDA (redundancy analysis) analysis and with higher FPKM value (fragments per kilobase of transcribed per million mapped readings), we can perceive a significant difference in the expression of this extracellular and intracellular parasite. The genes that most expressed in cells incubated for 48 hours after infection were analyzed for the biological species of Ontology of Genes (GO) that show significantly the enriched processes and functions of the intracellular parasite. The knowledge of the genes that are most expresse... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

The resting resistant stage has several important roles for phytoplankton microorganisms. It protects them from hostile conditions, allows them to spread to new locations and is often part of their life cycle. Chrysophytes form large populations for only a short part of the year, and therefore the formation of a resting stage is key for them to re-establish a vegetative population the following year. Chrysophyte resting stages are called stomatocysts, which are silicified and have a unique species-specific morphology. They can be form after both sexual and asexual reproduction. This is an understudied area. Most described stomatocysts are not assigned to species and much is not known about the triggers of encystation and excystation. It is thought that a combination of external (temperature, light, nutrients) and internal (cell age and cell concentration) factors are involved. So far, only sexual encystation in Dinobryon cyindricum and Synura petersenii has been studied in detail. My diploma thesis is based on laboratory experiments with Ochromonas tuberculata, Synura uvella and two strains of Synura petersenii. The aim of the study was to investigating whether external conditions such as temperature and lack of nitrogen or phosphorus have the effect on asexual encystation and whether it is...