Project description:The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans feeds on microbes in its natural environment. Some of these microbes are pathogenic and thus harmful to C. elegans. To minimize resulting fitness reductions, C. elegans has evolved various defence mechanisms including behavioural responses (e.g. avoidance behaviour) that reduce contact with the infectious microbes. In this study, we characterized the genetic architecture of natural variation in C. elegans avoidance behaviour against the infectious stages of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. We performed an analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and introgression lines (ILs) generated from a cross of two genetically as well as phenotypically distinct natural isolates N2 and CB4856. The analysis identified several QTLs that underlie variation in the behavioural response to pathogenic and/or non-pathogenic bacteria. One of the candidates is the npr-1 gene. This gene encodes a homolog of the mammalian neuropeptide receptor. Npr-1 was previously indicated to fully contribute to behavioural defence against the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa and food patch-leaving behaviour on Escherichia coli. Interestingly, in our study, npr-1 is not the only gene mediating avoidance behaviour toward Bacillus thuringiensis. Moreover, our functional analyses show that npr-1 alleles appear to influence survival and avoidance behaviour toward Bacillus thuringiensis in exactly the opposite way than toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our findings highlight the role of npr-1 in fine-tuning nematode behaviour in an ecological context depending on the microbe to which C. elegans is exposed. These opposite phenotypes reflect the diversity in innate immunity to pathogens. To understand the mechanism involved in these opposite phenotypes, we carried out a whole-genome transcriptomics study by RNA-Sequencing. This study includes two pathogens: Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 and Bacillus thuringiensis B-18247 (BT247), two strains: N2 and npr-1 (ur89), two time points (12 and 24h) and standard lab food E. coli OP50 as control. mRNA profiles of wild type (WT) and npr-1 (ur89) C.elegans exposed to either Bacillus thuringiensis B-18247, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 or standard lab food E. coli OP50 at 12h or 24h were generated by deep sequencing, in double or triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq2000.
Project description:The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans feeds on microbes in its natural environment. Some of these microbes are pathogenic and thus harmful to C. elegans. To minimize resulting fitness reductions, C. elegans has evolved various defence mechanisms including behavioural responses (e.g. avoidance behaviour) that reduce contact with the infectious microbes. In this study, we characterized the genetic architecture of natural variation in C. elegans avoidance behaviour against the infectious stages of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. We performed an analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) and introgression lines (ILs) generated from a cross of two genetically as well as phenotypically distinct natural isolates N2 and CB4856. The analysis identified several QTLs that underlie variation in the behavioural response to pathogenic and/or non-pathogenic bacteria. One of the candidates is the npr-1 gene. This gene encodes a homolog of the mammalian neuropeptide receptor. Npr-1 was previously indicated to fully contribute to behavioural defence against the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa and food patch-leaving behaviour on Escherichia coli. Interestingly, in our study, npr-1 is not the only gene mediating avoidance behaviour toward Bacillus thuringiensis. Moreover, our functional analyses show that npr-1 alleles appear to influence survival and avoidance behaviour toward Bacillus thuringiensis in exactly the opposite way than toward Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our findings highlight the role of npr-1 in fine-tuning nematode behaviour in an ecological context depending on the microbe to which C. elegans is exposed. These opposite phenotypes reflect the diversity in innate immunity to pathogens. To understand the mechanism involved in these opposite phenotypes, we carried out a whole-genome transcriptomics study by RNA-Sequencing. This study includes two pathogens: Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 and Bacillus thuringiensis B-18247 (BT247), two strains: N2 and npr-1 (ur89), two time points (12 and 24h) and standard lab food E. coli OP50 as control.
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:Analysis of differential gene expression in C. elegans adults exposed to three different bacteria: E. coli strain OP50, wild-type P. aeruginosa PA14 and gacA mutant PA14. Samples were analyzed at 4 hours and 8 hours after exposure to the different bacteria. These studies identified C. elegans genes induced by pathogen infection. Keywords: Time course, response to pathogen infection