International Research Consortium on Molluscan Symbionts (IRCOMS)
A RESEARCH NETWORK ORGANIZED BY THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Daniel P. Molloy - Founder and Coordinator
Daniel P. Molloy - Founder and Coordinator
GOALS
The consortium was formed to perform fundamental research on the biology,
ecology, distribution, and systematics of organisms
symbiotically associated with molluscs, including commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic species.
Emphasis is currently on the endosymbionts of fresh and brackish
water bivalves in North America and Europe, particularly Dreissena spp.
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
- Characterizing an intracellular prokaryote parasite in Dreissena
- Characterizing a ciliate in the genus Ophryoglena parasitic in Dreissena
- Seasonal dynamics of the ciliate Conchophthirus acuminatus in Dreissena
- Histological analysis of trematode infection in Dreissena
- Characterizing a haplosporidian parasitic in Dreissena
- Characterizing a ciliate parasitic in Dreissena hemolymph
- Characterizing a coccidia-like parasite
- Symbionts found in false dark mussels, Mytilopsis leucophaeata
- Characterizing a coccidia-like parasite in Dreissena
- Parasites and host-parasite relationships in unionid clams
- Cytogenetics of trematode parasites of zebra mussels