Project description:To understand the molecular mechanism of C. elegans innate immunity, we used RNA sequencing to profile gene expression in wild-type animals with or without P. aeruginosa (PA14) infection. We found that a bZIP transcription factor ZIP-11 is dramatically induced in wild-type worm upon PA14 infection. And ZIP-11 promotes innate immunity through activating PMK-1/p38 pathway and interacting with a CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein CEBP-2.
Project description:To gain insights into the mechanisms by which RC301 compensates for the deficiency in the NPR-1 controlled immune and behavioral responses of strain DA650, we determine the whole-genome expression profile of these two strains upon exposure to Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14
Project description:Very little is known about how animals discriminate pathogens from innocuous microbes. To address this question, we examined infection-response gene induction in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We focused on genes that are induced in C. elegans by infection with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but are not induced by an isogenic attenuated gacA mutant. Most of these genes are induced independently of known immunity pathways. We generated a GFP reporter for one of these genes, infection response gene 1 (irg-1), which is induced strongly by wild-type P. aeruginosa strain PA14, but not by other C. elegans pathogens or by other wild-type P. aeruginosa strains that are weakly pathogenic to C. elegans. To identify components of the pathway that induces irg-1 in response to infection, we performed an RNA interference screen of C. elegans transcription factors. This screen identified zip-2, a bZIP transcription factor that is required for inducing irg-1, as well as several other genes, and is important for defense against infection by P. aeruginosa. These data indicate that zip-2 is part of a specialized pathogen response pathway that is induced by virulent strains of P. aeruginosa and provides defense against this pathogen. Analysis of differential gene expression in adult N2 C. elegans treated with L4440 control RNAi or zip-2 RNAi, either uninfected (feeding on E. coli) or infected with P. aeruginosa PA14; samples were analyzed after 4 hours of infection
Project description:As a comparison to tobramycin-treated P. aeruginosa biofilms, we investigated the response of planktonic P. aeruginosa to tobramycin by microarray. Experiment Overall Design: We included 2 control (untreated) cultures and 2 tobramycin-treated cultures. We used mid-exponential phase cultures of P. aeruginosa PA14. Replicate cultures were incubated in the presence or absence of 5 μg/mL tobramycin for 30 minutes at 37°C.
