Project description:Perforin is a major effector molecule of human natural killer (NK) cells. It can induce delayed growth of Candida albicans hyphae. Here, the fungal transcriptome was analyzed after a co-incubation with 500ng/µl Perforin.
Project description:Cooperation is associated with major transitions in evolution such as the emergence of multicellularity. It is central to the evolution of many complex traits in nature, including growth and virulence in pathogenic bacteria. Whether cells of multicellular parasites function cooperatively during infection remains however largely unknown. Here, we show that hyphal cells of the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum reprogram towards division of labor to facilitate the colonization of host plants. Using global transcriptome sequencing, we reveal that gene expression patterns diverge markedly in cells at the center and apex of hyphae during A. thaliana colonization compared to in vitro growth. We reconstructed a genome-scale metabolic model for S. sclerotiorum and used flux balance analysis to demonstrate metabolic heterogeneity supporting division of labor between hyphal cells. Accordingly, continuity between the central and apical compartments of invasive hyphae was required for optimal growth in planta. Using a multi-cell model of fungal hyphae, we show that this cooperative functioning enhances fungal growth predominantly during host colonization. Our work identifies cooperation in fungal hyphae as a mechanism emerging at the multicellular level to support host colonization and virulence.
Project description:We bulit a pulmonary aspergillosis model in immunocompetent mice. Mice were inoculated intratracheally with 50 μL suspension of conidia , hyphal fragments or normal saline, respectively, after anesthesia. Lungs from were harvested and ground for RNA extraction 24 hours after fungal inoculation. The result of RNA-seq indicated both conidia and hyphae can activate a series of immunologically relevant pathways and these pathways were much more strongly activated by hyphae. Hyphae could promote Th2 cell differentiation and suppress Th1 cell differentiation. Both hyphae and conidia could activate Th17 cell differentiation.
Project description:Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) was used for expression analysis of three contrasted fungal tissues of uredinia corresponding respectively to spores and sporogenous hyphae, fungal structures in the spongy mesophyll and fungal infection structures in the palisade mesophyll. The array probes were designed from gene models taken from the Joint Genome Institute (JGI, Department of Energy) Melampsora larici-populina genome sequence version 1. The aim of this study was to identify tissue-specific gene expression to gain insights into the genes specifically associated with the biotrophic phase and the sporulation phase of the rust fungus. We performed 9 hybridizations (NimbleGen) with samples derived from Laser Capture Microdissection (LCM) of three contrasted fungal tissues of uredinia, corresponding respectively to spores and sporogenous hyphae, fungal structures in the spongy mesophyll and fungal infection structures in the palisade mesophyll. Three replicates per tissue. All samples were labeled with Cy3.