Dataset Information

The within-host dynamics of infection in trans-generationally primed flour beetles.

ABSTRACT: Many taxa exhibit plastic immune responses initiated after primary microbial exposure that provide increased protection against disease-induced mortality and the fitness costs of infection. In several arthropod species, this protection can even be passed from parents to offspring through a phenomenon called trans-generational immune priming. Here, we first demonstrate that trans-generational priming is a repeatable phenomenon in flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) primed and infected with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). We then quantify the within-host dynamics of microbes and host physiological responses in infected offspring from primed and unprimed mothers by monitoring bacterial density and using mRNA-seq to profile host gene expression, respectively, over the acute infection period. We find that priming increases inducible resistance against Bt around a critical temporal juncture where host septicaemic trajectories, and consequently survival, may be determined in unprimed individuals. Our results identify a highly differentially expressed biomarker of priming, containing an EIF4-e domain, in uninfected individuals, as well as several other candidate genes. Moreover, the induction and decay dynamics of gene expression over time suggest a metabolic shift in primed individuals. The identified bacterial and gene expression dynamics are likely to influence patterns of bacterial fitness and disease transmission in natural populations.

SUBMITTER: Tate AT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5653231 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The within-host dynamics of infection in trans-generationally primed flour beetles.

Tate Ann T AT Andolfatto Peter P Demuth Jeffery P JP Graham Andrea L AL

Molecular ecology 20170404 14

Many taxa exhibit plastic immune responses initiated after primary microbial exposure that provide increased protection against disease-induced mortality and the fitness costs of infection. In several arthropod species, this protection can even be passed from parents to offspring through a phenomenon called trans-generational immune priming. Here, we first demonstrate that trans-generational priming is a repeatable phenomenon in flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum) primed and infected with Bacill ...[more]

PMID: 28277618

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundChlamydia trachomatis is a common human pathogen that mediates disease processes capable of inflicting serious complications on reproduction. Aggressive inflammatory immune responses are thought to not only direct a person's level of immunity but also the potential for immunopathology. With human immunobiology being debated as a cause of prevailing epidemiological trends, we examined some fundamental issues regarding susceptibility to multiple chlamydial infections that could have implications for infection spread. We argue that, compared to less-frequent exposure, frequent exposure to chlamydia may well produce unique immunobiological characteristics that likely to have important clinical and epidemiological implications.Methods and resultsAs a novel tool for studying chlamydia, we applied principles of modeling within-host pathogen dynamics to enable an understanding of some fundamental characteristics of an individual's immunobiology during multiple chlamydial infections. While the models were able to reproduce shorter-term infection kinetics of primary and secondary infections previously observed in animal models, it was also observed that longer periods between initial and second infection may increase an individual's chlamydial load and lengthen their duration of infectiousness. The cessation of short-term repeated exposure did not allow for the formation of long-lasting immunity. However, frequent re-exposure non-intuitively linked the formation of protective immunity, persistent infection, and the potential for immunopathology.ConclusionsOverall, these results provide interesting insights that should be verified with continued study. Nevertheless, these results appear to raise challenges for current evidence of the development of long-lasting immunity against chlamydia, and suggest the existence of a previously unidentified mechanism for the formation of persistent infection. The obvious next goal is to investigate the qualitative impact of these results on the spread of chlamydia.

Dataset Information

The within-host dynamics of infection in trans-generationally primed flour beetles.

Publications

The within-host dynamics of infection in trans-generationally primed flour beetles.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets