Further reading Bartošová-Sojková P, Oppenheim RD, Soldati-Favre D, Lukeš J. Epicellular apicomplexans: parasites “on the way in”. PLoS Pathog 2015;11(9): e1005080. Boisard J, Florent I. Why the -omic future of Apicomplexa should include gregarines. Biol Cell 2020;112:173–185. Desportes I, Schrével J. Treatise on Zoology – Anatomy, Taxonomy, Biology. The Gregarines, The Early Branching Apicomplexa (2 vols). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill; 2013. Mathur V, Kolisko M, Hehenberger E, Irwin NAT, Leander BS et al. Multiple independent origins of Apicomplexan-like parasites. Curr Biol 2019;29:2936–2941 e2935. Romano AH, Saier MH Jr. Evolution of the bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system. I. Physiological and organismic considerations. In: Mortlock RP (ed). The Evolution of Metabolic Function . Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 1992. pp. 171–204. Rueckert S, Betts EL, Tsaousis AD. The symbiotic spectrum: where do the gregarines fit? Trends Parasitol 2019;35:687–694.
Anastasios D. Tsaousis Reader in Molecular and Evolutionary
Parasitology, School of Biosciences, RAPID group, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NJ, Kent, UK
a.tsaousis@kent.ac.uk @ADTsaousis
Anastasios Tsaousis’ research is focused on investigating the adaptations of microbial eukaryotic (protists) organisms. His laboratory is combining detailed bioinformatics analyses of newly generated genomic/transcriptomic/metabolomic results with field, cell biological and biochemical methods to investigate the parasitic and free-living microbial eukaryotes living in diverse and extreme environments.
Sonja Rueckert Associate Professor in Marine Biology/ Parasitology, School of Applied Sciences & Centre for Conservation and Restoration Science, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh EH11 4BN, UK
About the authors
Kevin McKinley PhD Candidate, School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Sighthill Campus, Edinburgh EH11 4BN, UK
s.rueckert@napier.ac.uk @SonjaRueckert
Sonja Rueckert is Associate Professor in Marine Biology/Parasitology at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. Her research is focused on the morphology, diversity, phylogeny, biology, ecology and evolution of eukaryotic microbes, with a focus on the gregarine apicomplexans. Understanding the symbiotic relationships with their hosts is one of her main goals. What advice would you give to anyone starting their academic career? Kevin: Don’t hide from the rest of the academic community. Discuss potential ideas with your supervisors and your colleagues. Go to academic conferences and seminars, and reach out to those who you think may aid in your research. We can learn a lot from colleagues in parallel fields. Could you describe one of your typical workdays? Kevin: My workload contains a mixture of field-based and lab-based work. One day I could be in the field, kick-sampling in a river to collect amphipods that I’d later examine for gregarine infection. Another day could be spent in the lab growing and maintaining cell lines that I aim to infect with gregarines.
kevin.mckinley@napier.ac.uk @KevinOMcKinley
Kevin McKinley is a PhD candidate at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. His main interest is in parasitic protists, with his current research focusing on establishing the foundations of an in vitro axenic culture system for gregarines that is animal and tissue free.
Emma Betts Postdoctoral researcher in Parasitology, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
elbetts@g.ucla.edu
Emma Betts is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Professor Patricia Johnson at UCLA. Emma received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Kent (Dr Tsaousis’ group), and her research has primarily focused on investigating symbiotic relationships between protozoa, the microbiome and the host.
91 Microbiology Today October 2022 | microbiologysociety.org
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