Advances on the Physiology and Cell Biology of Invertebrate Parasites

Invertebrate parasites, such as helminths, arthropods, and mollusks, compose a diverse group of organisms that can explore the most intriguing environment, the host's body. This ability to survive in a dynamic environment requires intense cellular activity. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have shed new light on the mechanisms of parasite-host interaction and have driven the development of continuously evolving hypotheses for parasite-driven host dynamics, immunology, and evolution. Moreover, invertebrate parasites show a high sensitivity to environmental pollutants and climate changes, which can interfere with their physiology, with their life cycle and consequently on their host-interactions. However, the growth of knowledge regarding the organization of the cellular milieu of these parasites is not on par with these other areas, demanding increased focus on the parasite cellular architecture, morphology, and cell biology.

This Research Topic will focus on the physiology and cell biology of invertebrate parasites. Our goal is to promote the publication of new developments that can deepen our understanding of invertebrate parasitism, such as parasite physiology, reproduction, and microbiota contribution to host-parasite dynamics. Areas of interest include i) production of excretory-secretory (ES) molecules capable of regulating host immune responses or interaction with the microbiota; ii) specialization and adaptations toward nutrient uptake and digestion; iii) tissue and cellular remodeling due to parasitism and parasite-host interaction; iv) adaptations for invertebrate colonization of host body and host-derived adaptations to avoid parasitism; v) genetics and genomics basis of parasitism, evaluating the gene expression related to host interaction and vi) invertebrate parasites as environmental biomarkers on different biological scales, from pollutants to climate changes.
In addition, evolutionary comparison between free-living invertebrates (e.g. Drosophila melanogaster or Caenorhabditis elegans) with parasite taxa will be a welcome contribution to this Research Topic.

Specific sub-topics include, but are not limited to:

• Morphological and ultrastructural adaptations for parasitism;
• Cellular and molecular pathways of tissue homeostasis and regulation of cell cycle;
• Molecular regulation and cellular adaptations of interorgan communication and signaling;
• Secretive and/or absorptive function of invertebrate cells in different tissues and systems;
• Mechanisms and cellular adaptations for nutrient sequestration, uptake, and processing;
• Cell division in the reproductive (or other) system, focusing on adaptations in the context of the evolution of parasitism;
• Cell biology of the sensory structures associated with the nervous system and signal transduction;
• Cellular dynamics and adaptations of invertebrate tegument and exoskeleton;
• Cellular and molecular dynamics of invertebrates in the host-microbiota interaction process;
• Parasites or model organisms used to improve techniques and protocols associated with the understanding of cell biology;
• Cellular and tissue responses of the parasites to pollutants or toxic substances;
• Life cycle regulation in cellular and molecular terms, following climate and environmental changes and consequent physiological parasites adaptation.