Dataset Information

Defects in the C. elegans acyl-CoA synthase, acs-3, and nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25, cause sensitivity to distinct, but overlapping stresses.

ABSTRACT: Metazoan transcription factors control distinct networks of genes in specific tissues, yet understanding how these networks are integrated into physiology, development, and homeostasis remains challenging. Inactivation of the nuclear hormone receptor nhr-25 ameliorates developmental and metabolic phenotypes associated with loss of function of an acyl-CoA synthetase gene, acs-3. ACS-3 activity prevents aberrantly high NHR-25 activity. Here, we investigated this relationship further by examining gene expression patterns following acs-3 and nhr-25 inactivation. Unexpectedly, we found that the acs-3 mutation or nhr-25 RNAi resulted in similar transcriptomes with enrichment in innate immunity and stress response gene expression. Mutants of either gene exhibited distinct sensitivities to pathogens and environmental stresses. Only nhr-25 was required for wild-type levels of resistance to the bacterial pathogen P. aeruginosa and only acs-3 was required for wild-type levels of resistance to osmotic stress and the oxidative stress generator, juglone. Inactivation of either acs-3 or nhr-25 compromised lifespan and resistance to the fungal pathogen D. coniospora. Double mutants exhibited more severe defects in the lifespan and P. aeruginosa assays, but were similar to the single mutants in other assays. Finally, acs-3 mutants displayed defects in their epidermal surface barrier, potentially accounting for the observed sensitivities. Together, these data indicate that inactivation of either acs-3 or nhr-25 causes stress sensitivity and increased expression of innate immunity/stress genes, most likely by different mechanisms. Elevated expression of these immune/stress genes appears to abrogate the transcriptional signatures relevant to metabolism and development.

SUBMITTER: Ward JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3961378 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Defects in the C. elegans acyl-CoA synthase, acs-3, and nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25, cause sensitivity to distinct, but overlapping stresses.

Ward Jordan D JD Mullaney Brendan B Schiller Benjamin J BJ He Le D LD Petnic Sarah E SE Couillault Carole C Pujol Nathalie N Bernal Teresita U TU Van Gilst Marc R MR Ashrafi Kaveh K Ewbank Jonathan J JJ Yamamoto Keith R KR

PloS one 20140320 3

Metazoan transcription factors control distinct networks of genes in specific tissues, yet understanding how these networks are integrated into physiology, development, and homeostasis remains challenging. Inactivation of the nuclear hormone receptor nhr-25 ameliorates developmental and metabolic phenotypes associated with loss of function of an acyl-CoA synthetase gene, acs-3. ACS-3 activity prevents aberrantly high NHR-25 activity. Here, we investigated this relationship further by examining g ...[more]

PMID: 24651852

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Project description:Acyl-coA synthases (ACSs) produce fatty acyl-CoAs that are used in metabolic and signaling pathways. Metazoans have a large number of ACS genes with differing expression patterns and substrate preferences, but the physiological roles of most ACS genes are unknown. Here, we focused on the C. elegans acyl CoA synthase, ACS-3, which is known to regulate fat uptake and de novo fat synthesis through the conserved nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25. We performed microarray analysis of acs-3 mutants to elucidate the acs-3-regulated transcription program. This analysis revealed an enrichment among differentially regulated genes of those involved in lipid metabolism, pathogen and wounding responses, and sterol binding genes, among others. As the immunity genes were the most represented gene class, we performed pathogen sensitivity assays to test the phenotypic consequences of this immune gene regulation. Interestingly, acs-3 mutants were hypersensitive to the fungal pathogen D. coniospora, but only mildly sensitive to the bacterial pathogen P. aeruginosa. acs-3 mutation suppressed nhr-25 mutant sensitivity to P. aeruginosa, yet surprisingly microarray analysis of nhr-25(RNAi) animals revealed significant overlap with the acs-3 mutant transcriptome, with an enrichment of pathogen response genes. The upregulation of pathogen response genes in acs-3(ft5) mutants and following nhr-25 reduction-of-function (rf) does not appear to be due to a constitutive osmotic response or defective cuticle barrier, two potential explanations for the acs-3(ft5) and nhr-25(rf) expression of innate immunity genes in the absence of pathogen exposure. Together, these data indicate that ACS-3 promotes resistance to the fungal pathogen, D. coniospora and regulates innate immunity genes through an unknown mechanism. Potential roles for ACS-3 in innate immunity are discussed. We used two-color expression microarrays to compare the transcriptional profiles in two experimental conditions: 1) comparing wild-type (N2) L4 stage larval worms to acs-3(ft5) L4 larval mutant animals; and 2) animals grown to L4 larval stage on bacteria harboring vectors for either control or nhr-25 RNA-interference (RNAi). L4 stage was determined by morphology of the developing vulva. Three biological replicates were used for each experimental condition. Statistically significant changes in gene expression in each experimental were determined using M-bM-^@M-^\linear models for microarray dataM-bM-^@M-^] (limma).

Dataset Information

Defects in the C. elegans acyl-CoA synthase, acs-3, and nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25, cause sensitivity to distinct, but overlapping stresses.

Publications

Defects in the C. elegans acyl-CoA synthase, acs-3, and nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25, cause sensitivity to distinct, but overlapping stresses.

Similar Datasets

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