Research summary
Apicomplexan is the name for a family of parasites. Some of these can cause severe human diseases, like malaria, toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidiosis. Others can affect ecological processes from the individual to the ecosystem level, with profound effects on food webs, biodiversity and keystone species.
Dr. Patrick Keeling, Canada Research Chair in Microbial Diversity and Evolution, is working to develop a deeper understanding of the biology of apicomplexan parasites, including their diversity, host range and cellular function. He and his research team are using an evolutionary framework to assemble a broad picture of how these parasites originate and evolve. By using a blend of fieldwork and environmental microbiology methods with high-resolution 3D microscopy and culture-free genomics, they hope to deepen their understanding of the environmental diversity of parasites in key ecosystems.