Project description:The host range of parasites is an important factor in assessing the dynamics of disease epidemics. The evolution of pathogens to accommodate new hosts may lead to host range expansion, a process the molecular bases of which are largely enigmatic. The fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum parasitizes more than 400 plant species from diverse eudicot families while its close relative, S. trifoliorum, is restricted to plants from the Fabaceae family. We analyzed S. sclerotiorum global transcriptome reprogramming on hosts from six botanical families and reveal a flexible, host-specific transcriptional program driven by core and host-response co-expression (SPREx) gene clusters. We generated a chromosome-level genome assembly for S. trifoliorum and found near-complete gene space conservation in broad and narrow host range Sclerotinia species. However, S. trifoliorum showed increased sensitivity to the Brassicaceae defense compound camalexin. Inter-specific transcriptome analyses revealed a lack of transcriptional response to camalexin in S. trifoliorum and provide evidence that cis-regulatory variation associates with the genetic accommodation of Brassicaceae in the Sclerotinia host range. Our work demonstrates adaptive plasticity of a broad host range pathogen with specific responses to different host plants and demonstrates the co-existence of signatures for generalist and polyspecialist life styles in the genome of a plant pathogen. We reason that this mechanism enables the emergence of new disease with no or limited gene flow between strains and species, and could underlie the emergence of new epidemics originating from wild plants in agricultural settings.
Project description:We have isolated and characterized several bacteriophages infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa distantly related to Felix O1 virus and proposed they form a new subfamily named Felixounavirinae. The infectious cycle of bacteriophages belonging to this subfamily has not been studied yet in terms of gene expression. The present study reports the RNA-Seq analysis of bacteriophage PAK_P3 infecting PAK strain of P. aeruginosa. RNA profile of Host and Phage at 0min, 3.5min and 13 min after infection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAK strain with the Pseudomonas phage PAK P3. Three biological replicates for each time point.
Project description:Antibiotic use can lead to expansion of multi-drug resistant pathobionts within the gut microbiome that can cause life-threatening infections. Selective alternatives to conventional antibiotics are in dire need. Here, we describe a Klebsiella PhageBank that enables the rapid design of antimicrobial bacteriophage cocktails to treat multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Using a transposon library in carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, we identified host factors required for phage infection in major Klebsiella phage families. Leveraging the diversity of the PhageBank and experimental evolution strategies, we formulated combinations of phages that minimize the occurrence of phage resistance in vitro. Optimized bacteriophage cocktails selectively suppressed the burden of multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae in the mouse gut microbiome and drove bacterial populations to lose key virulence factors that act as phage receptors. Further, phage-mediated diversification of bacterial populations in the gut enabled co-evolution of phage variants with higher virulence and a broader host range. Altogether, the Klebsiella PhageBank represents a roadmap for both phage researchers and clinicians to enable phage therapy against a critical multidrug-resistant human pathogen.
2024-10-01 | GSE272297 | GEO
Project description:Impact of diverse ecological systems on virus host range evolution
Project description:This study aims to explore the relationship between the respiratory virome, specifically bacteriophages, HERV and the host response in ARDS and to assess their value in predicting the prognosis of ARDS.
2024-10-13 | GSE279069 | GEO
Project description:Lionfish Range Expansion RAD-seq
