原生动物学研究室成立于1997年，作为功能研究室之一隶属于中国海洋大学海洋生物多样性与进化研究所及海水养殖教育部重点实验室。被国际同行评价为“全球海洋纤毛虫系统学领域的研究中心”。在纤毛虫细胞发育和海洋类群分类学等分支具有国际领跑者的地位。
本室目前主要聚焦方向：
● 细胞学：探讨以腹毛类为核心的纤毛虫在无性生殖期间皮层纤毛器等结构的形成模式、分化与命运及演化规律；
● 多样性：主要涉及以红树林为核心的热带-亚热带水体、北方沿海砂隙和厌氧环境中各类纤毛虫的形态分类学、物种多样性、生物地理学、群落结构与功能等；
● 分子系统学：利用分子系统学分析手段，探讨纤毛虫不明类群的系统发生与演化、阶元间关系以及在系统发育中的地位；
● 表观遗传学：以四膜虫为模式材料，聚焦和揭示组蛋白甲基化和DNA甲基化对真核生物基因复制和表达的调控机制等；
● 纤毛虫组学与基因进化： 针对纤毛虫独特的两型核结构，利用实验生物学、生物信息学分析等技术研究其接合生殖过程中的基因组重组和演化模式，并对该过程中所涉及的机制及基因功能进行揭示。
● 染色体生物学：利用具有双元核型的纤毛虫为特色研究材料，聚焦减数分裂这一重要生命过程，揭示减数分裂期间染色体的转录及重组机制等。
本研究室自成立以来，先后系统开展了对我国沿海自由生活纤毛虫原生动物的多样性与区系分类学、纤毛虫重要类群的细胞发生学、系统发育、海水养殖动物中危害性原生动物的病原学、近岸环境中原生动物的个体与自然生态学等内容的探讨和研究。完成了以我国黄-渤海纤毛虫区系、凯毛虫等重要类群的细胞发育模式、纤毛虫重要类群的分子系统构建以及大量新阶元建立、扇形游仆虫等代表种的基因组/转录组分析等代表性成果，同时以模式动物四膜虫为材料，聚焦组蛋白甲基化和DNA甲基化对真核生物基因复制和表达的调控机制，形成了一系列创新性成果。
截止2021年12月，本团队以及合作者累计发表研究论文800 余篇，包括在本领域国际主流刊物发表SCI论文580余篇，出版专著5部、译著1部以及在境外出版专集2部。
本室所主持完成的成果先后获“国家自然科学二等奖”、四项教育部“自然科学成果”一等奖、一项教育部“自然科学成果”二等奖以及一项国家海洋局科技进步成果一等奖。
The Laboratory of Protozoology, was established in 1997. At present it consists of 6 permanent staff and about 20 research students. The laboratory is internationally respected by its “world-leading” achievement and “acknowledged center” in the field of cell development and taxonomy of marine ciliates.
Focus on ciliated protists, the research group mainly works on: ● Cell development: focuses on pattern formation of cortical structures and the nuclear apparatus, differentiation of new structures and the fate of old ones during cell division. ● Diversity and taxonomy: concerns morphological taxonomy, species diversity and the spatial/temporal distribution of ciliates in various marine biotopes. ● Phylogenetics and systematics: focuses on reconstructing phylogenies with expanded taxonomic sampling and gene markers, in order to increase our knowledge and understanding of the evolutionary relationships within and among different groups of ciliates. ● Epigenetics: aims at understanding how epigenetic information affects gene expression and DNA replication. ● Genomics and gene evolution: focuses on the patterns and mechanisms of MAC/MIC genome rearrangements during sexual conjugation.
Since 1990, the research group has undertaken over 20 research projects, mainly funded by the “National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program)”, the “Cheung Kong Scholars Programme”, “Taishan Scholar-Young Researcher Program”, the Natural Science Foundation of China, and also by the international schemes such as the DAAD (Germany), the Royal Society and Darwin Initiative (UK) and the CERB (Saudi Arabia) in collaboration with several oversea institutions (e.g. the University of Bonn, Germany, the Natural History Museum, UK, and the King Saud University).
Up to end of 2021, we published about 800 papers, including over 580 in international peer-reviewed journals, and 8 monographs. We achieved: second prize of the National Natural Science Award (2004); four times first prize of the Education Ministry Natural Science Award (1998, 2001, 2004 and 2008); second prize of the Education Ministry Natural Science Award(2019); first prize of Science and Technology Advancement Award of the State Bureau of Oceanic Administration (1997).
Main on going projects:
● Diversity pattern exploration and baseline data establishment of ciliated protozoa in freshwater wetlands of China (by NSFC);
● Study on biodiversity of ciliates in near-shore, anaerobic environment of the Yellow Sea (by NSFC);
● Epigenetic studies on the model organism Tetrahymena thermophila (by NSFC);
● Genome rearrangements during conjugation in Euplotes vannus (by NSFC);
● Chromosome biology: deciphers transcription and recombination of meiotic chromosomes using bi-nucleated ciliates.
