Project description:Only recently, the natural gut microbiome of the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has been described. C. elegans harbors a distinct gut microbiome that is shaped by environmental conditions, age, and host genotype. However, there is not much known about the genetic factors on the molecular level that the worm employs in order to keep its microbiota at bay. Previously, we have shown that TGFβ/BMP immune signaling is able to control the gut microbiome of C. elegans in particular in regards to Enterobacter species. We now aimed to identify the downstream targets of TGFβ/BMP immune signaling that implement the changes in microbiome composition. Hence, we exposed TGFβ mutants, dbl-1(nk3) and sma-3(e491), overexpression strain ctIs40 [dbl-1(+) + sur-5::GFP], and wild-type N2 to a synthetic microbiota community, CeMbio, and an E. coli OP50 control, and performed RNAseq. CeMbio is a collection of 12 diverse bacterial strains, previously isolated from wild C. elegans, C. elegans grown in microcosms, or substrates with C. elegans. Using the R packages edgeR and limma we are currently analyzing the data to understand the involvement of TGFβ/BMP signaling in host-microbiome interaction.
Project description:Young adult fer-15;fem-1 Caenorhabditis elegans were infected with Staphylococcus aureus for 8 h to determine the transcriptional host response to Staphylococcus aureus. Analysis of differential gene expression in C. elegans young adults exposed to two different bacteria: E. coli strain OP50 (control), wild-type Staphylococcus aureus RN6390. Samples were analyzed at 8 hours after exposure to the different bacteria. These studies identified C. elegans genes induced by pathogen infection. Keywords: response to pathogen infection, innate immunity, host-pathogen interactions
Project description:Graphene oxide (GO) holds high promise for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in nanomedicine but reportedly displays immunotoxicity, underlining the need for developing functionalized GO with improved biocompatibility. Here, we study the adverse effects of GO and amino-functionalized GO (GONH2) during Caenorhabditis elegans development and ageing upon acute or chronic exposure. Chronic GO treatment throughout the C. elegans development causes decreased fecundity and a reduction of animal size, while acute treatment does not lead to any measurable physiological decline. However, RNA-Seq data reveal that acute GO exposure induces innate immune gene expression. The p38 MAP kinase, PMK-1, which is a well-established master regulator of innate immunity, protects C. elegans from chronic GO toxicity, as pmk-1 mutants show reduced tissue-functionality and facultative vivipary. In a direct comparison, GONH2 exposure does not cause detrimental effects in the wild type or in pmk-1 mutants, and the innate immune response is considerably less pronounced. Our work establishes the enhanced biocompatibility of amino-functionalized GO in a whole-organism, emphasizing its potential as biomedical nanomaterial.
Project description:Oviparous animals support reproduction via the incorporation of yolk as a nutrient source into the eggs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, however, yolk proteins seem dispensable for fecundity, despite constituting the vast majority of the embryonic protein pool and acting as carriers for nutrient-rich lipids. Here, we used yolk protein-deprived C. elegans mutants to gain insight into the traits that may yet be influenced by yolk rationing. We show that massive yolk provisioning confers a temporal advantage during embryogenesis, while also increasing early juvenile body size and promoting competitive fitness. Opposite to species that reduce egg production under yolk deprivation, our results indicate that C. elegans relies on yolk as a fail-safe to secure offspring survival, rather than to maintain offspring numbers.
Project description:Gebauer2016 - Genome-scale model of
Caenorhabditis elegans metabolism (without bacteria)
This model is one of the two versions
of ElegCyc presented in the paper. It describes the metabolism of a
worm raised in a medium without bacteria.
This model is described in the article:
A Genome-Scale Database and
Reconstruction of Caenorhabditis elegans Metabolism.
Gebauer J, Gentsch C, Mansfeld J,
Schmeißer K, Waschina S, Brandes S, Klimmasch L, Zamboni N,
Zarse K, Schuster S, Ristow M, Schäuble S, Kaleta C.
Cell Syst 2016 May; 2(5): 312-322
Abstract:
We present a genome-scale model of Caenorhabditis elegans
metabolism along with the public database ElegCyc
(http://elegcyc.bioinf.uni-jena.de:1100), which represents a
reference for metabolic pathways in the worm and allows for the
visualization as well as analysis of omics datasets.
Our model reflects the metabolic peculiarities of
C. elegans that make it distinct from other higher
eukaryotes and mammals, including mice and humans. We
experimentally verify one of these peculiarities by showing
that the lifespan-extending effect of L-tryptophan
supplementation is dose dependent (hormetic). Finally, we show
the utility of our model for analyzing omics datasets through
predicting changes in amino acid concentrations after genetic
perturbations and analyzing metabolic changes during normal
aging as well as during two distinct, reactive oxygen
species (ROS)-related lifespan-extending treatments. Our
analyses reveal a notable similarity in metabolic adaptation
between distinct lifespan-extending interventions and point to
key pathways affecting lifespan in nematodes.
This model is hosted on
BioModels Database
and identified by:
MODEL1704200000.
To cite BioModels Database, please use:
BioModels Database:
An enhanced, curated and annotated resource for published
quantitative kinetic models.
To the extent possible under law, all copyright and related or
neighbouring rights to this encoded model have been dedicated to
the public domain worldwide. Please refer to
CC0
Public Domain Dedication for more information.
Project description:Gebauer2016 - Genome-scale model of
Caenorhabditis elegans metabolism (with bacteria)
This model is one of the two versions
of ElegCyc presented in the paper. It describes the metabolism of a
worm raised in a medium with bacteria
This model is described in the article:
A Genome-Scale Database and
Reconstruction of Caenorhabditis elegans Metabolism.
Gebauer J, Gentsch C, Mansfeld J,
Schmeißer K, Waschina S, Brandes S, Klimmasch L, Zamboni N,
Zarse K, Schuster S, Ristow M, Schäuble S, Kaleta C.
Cell Syst 2016 May; 2(5): 312-322
Abstract:
We present a genome-scale model of Caenorhabditis elegans
metabolism along with the public database ElegCyc
(http://elegcyc.bioinf.uni-jena.de:1100), which represents a
reference for metabolic pathways in the worm and allows for the
visualization as well as analysis of omics datasets.
Our model reflects the metabolic peculiarities of
C. elegans that make it distinct from other higher
eukaryotes and mammals, including mice and humans. We
experimentally verify one of these peculiarities by showing
that the lifespan-extending effect of L-tryptophan
supplementation is dose dependent (hormetic). Finally, we show
the utility of our model for analyzing omics datasets through
predicting changes in amino acid concentrations after genetic
perturbations and analyzing metabolic changes during normal
aging as well as during two distinct, reactive oxygen
species (ROS)-related lifespan-extending treatments. Our
analyses reveal a notable similarity in metabolic adaptation
between distinct lifespan-extending interventions and point to
key pathways affecting lifespan in nematodes.
This model is hosted on
BioModels Database
and identified by:
MODEL1704200001.
To cite BioModels Database, please use:
BioModels Database:
An enhanced, curated and annotated resource for published
quantitative kinetic models.
To the extent possible under law, all copyright and related or
neighbouring rights to this encoded model have been dedicated to
the public domain worldwide. Please refer to
CC0
Public Domain Dedication for more information.
Project description:Background: The force generating mechanism of muscle is evolutionarily ancient; the fundamental structural and functional components of the sarcomere are common to motile animals throughout phylogeny. Recent evidence suggests that the transcription factors that regulate muscle development are also conserved. Thus, a comprehensive description of muscle gene expression in a simple model organism should define a basic muscle transcriptome that is also expressed in animals with more complex body plans. To this end, we have applied Micro-Array Profiling of Caenorhabditis elegans Cells (MAPCeL) to muscle cell populations extracted from developing Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. Results: Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) was used to isolate myo-3::GFP-positive muscle cells, and their cultured derivatives, from dissociated early Caenorhabditis elegans embryos. Microarray analysis identified 6,693 expressed genes, 1,305 of which are enriched in the myo-3::GFP positive cell population relative to the average embryonic cell. The muscle-enriched gene set was validated by comparisons to known muscle markers, independently derived expression data, and GFP reporters in transgenic strains. These results confirm the utility of MAPCeL for cell type-specific expression profiling and reveal that 60% of these transcripts have human homologs. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive description of gene expression in developing Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic muscle cells. The finding that over half of these muscle-enriched transcripts encode proteins with human homologs suggests that mutant analysis of these genes in Caenorhabditis elegans could reveal evolutionarily conserved models of muscle gene function with ready application to human muscle pathologies. Keywords: embryonic muscle, myo-3::GFP