1
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Gao B, Zhu S. The evolutionary novelty of insect defensins: from bacterial killing to toxin neutralization. Cell Mol Life Sci 2024; 81:230. [PMID: 38780625 PMCID: PMC11116330 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-024-05273-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 05/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Insect host defense comprises two complementary dimensions, microbial killing-mediated resistance and microbial toxin neutralization-mediated resilience, both jointly providing protection against pathogen infections. Insect defensins are a class of effectors of innate immunity primarily responsible for resistance to Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we report a newly originated gene from an ancestral defensin via genetic deletion following gene duplication in Drosophila virilis, which confers an enhanced resilience to Gram-positive bacterial infection. This gene encodes an 18-mer arginine-rich peptide (termed DvirARP) with differences from its parent gene in its pattern of expression, structure and function. DvirARP specifically expresses in D. virilis female adults with a constitutive manner. It adopts a novel fold with a 310 helix and a two CXC motif-containing loop stabilized by two disulfide bridges. DvirARP exhibits no activity on the majority of microorganisms tested and only a weak activity against two Gram-positive bacteria. DvirARP knockout flies are viable and have no obvious defect in reproductivity but they are more susceptible to the DvirARP-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection than the wild type files, which can be attributable to its ability in neutralization of the S. aureus secreted toxins. Phylogenetic distribution analysis reveals that DvirARP is restrictedly present in the Drosophila subgenus, but independent deletion variations also occur in defensins from the Sophophora subgenus, in support of the evolvability of this class of immune effectors. Our work illustrates for the first time how a duplicate resistance-mediated gene evolves an ability to increase the resilience of a subset of Drosophila species against bacterial infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Gao
- Group of Peptide Biology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shunyi Zhu
- Group of Peptide Biology and Evolution, State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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2
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Zhang J, Shan J, Shi W, Feng T, Sheng Y, Xu Z, Dong Z, Huang J, Chen J. Transcriptomic Insights into Host Metabolism and Immunity Changes after Parasitization by Leptopilina myrica. INSECTS 2024; 15:352. [PMID: 38786908 PMCID: PMC11122121 DOI: 10.3390/insects15050352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Revised: 05/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Parasitoids commonly manipulate their host's metabolism and immunity to facilitate their offspring survival, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we deconstructed the manipulation strategy of a newly discovered parasitoid wasp, L. myrica, which parasitizes D. melanogaster. Using RNA-seq, we analyzed transcriptomes of L. myrica-parasitized and non-parasitized Drosophila host larvae. A total of 22.29 Gb and 23.85 Gb of clean reads were obtained from the two samples, respectively, and differential expression analysis identified 445 DEGs. Of them, 304 genes were upregulated and 141 genes were downregulated in parasitized hosts compared with non-parasitized larvae. Based on the functional annotations in the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, we found that the genes involved in host nutrition metabolism were significantly upregulated, particularly in carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism. We also identified 30 other metabolism-related DEGs, including hexokinase, fatty acid synthase, and UDP-glycosyltransferase (Ugt) genes. We observed that five Bomanin genes (Boms) and six antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were upregulated. Moreover, a qRT-PCR analysis of 12 randomly selected DEGs confirmed the reproducibility and accuracy of the RNA-seq data. Our results provide a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of how L. myrica manipulates its host, laying a solid foundation for studies on the regulatory mechanisms employed by parasitoid wasps in their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junwei Zhang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jieyu Shan
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Wenqi Shi
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ting Feng
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yifeng Sheng
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zixuan Xu
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhi Dong
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jianhua Huang
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jiani Chen
- Institute of Insect Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (J.Z.); (J.S.); (W.S.); (T.F.); (Y.S.); (Z.X.); (Z.D.); (J.H.)
- Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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3
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Brown JC, McMichael BD, Vandadi V, Mukherjee A, Salzler HR, Matera AG. Lysine-36 of Drosophila histone H3.3 supports adult longevity. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2024; 14:jkae030. [PMID: 38366796 PMCID: PMC10989886 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkae030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Aging is a multifactorial process that disturbs homeostasis, increases disease susceptibility, and ultimately results in death. Although the definitive set of molecular mechanisms responsible for aging remain to be discovered, epigenetic change over time is proving to be a promising piece of the puzzle. Several post-translational histone modifications have been linked to the maintenance of longevity. Here, we focus on lysine-36 of the replication-independent histone protein, H3.3 (H3.3K36). To interrogate the role of this residue in Drosophila developmental gene regulation, we generated a lysine-to-arginine mutant that blocks the activity of its cognate-modifying enzymes. We found that an H3.3BK36R mutation causes a significant reduction in adult lifespan, accompanied by dysregulation of the genomic and transcriptomic architecture. Transgenic co-expression of wild-type H3.3B completely rescues the longevity defect. Because H3.3 is known to accumulate in nondividing tissues, we carried out transcriptome profiling of young vs aged adult fly heads. The data show that loss of H3.3K36 results in age-dependent misexpression of NF-κB and other innate immune target genes, as well as defects in silencing of heterochromatin. We propose H3.3K36 maintains the postmitotic epigenomic landscape, supporting longevity by regulating both pericentric and telomeric retrotransposons and by suppressing aberrant immune signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Brown
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Benjamin D McMichael
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Vasudha Vandadi
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Aadit Mukherjee
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Harmony R Salzler
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - A Gregory Matera
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- RNA Discovery Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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4
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Mpamhanga CD, Kounatidis I. The utility of Drosophila melanogaster as a fungal infection model. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1349027. [PMID: 38550600 PMCID: PMC10973011 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1349027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Invasive fungal diseases have profound effects upon human health and are on increase globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022 published the fungal priority list calling for improved public health interventions and advance research. Drosophila melanogaster presents an excellent model system to dissect host-pathogen interactions and has been proved valuable to study immunopathogenesis of fungal diseases. In this review we highlight the recent advances in fungal-Drosophila interplay with an emphasis on the recently published WHO's fungal priority list and we focus on available tools and technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengetai D Mpamhanga
- School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - Ilias Kounatidis
- School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
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5
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Balakireva Y, Nikitina M, Makhnovskii P, Kukushkina I, Kuzmin I, Kim A, Nefedova L. The Lifespan of D. melanogaster Depends on the Function of the Gagr Gene, a Domesticated gag Gene of Drosophila LTR Retrotransposons. INSECTS 2024; 15:68. [PMID: 38249074 PMCID: PMC10816282 DOI: 10.3390/insects15010068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
(1) Background: The Gagr gene in Drosophila melanogaster's genome originated from the molecular domestication of retrotransposons and retroviruses' gag gene. In all Drosophila species, the Gagr protein homologs exhibit a conserved structure, indicative of a vital role. Previous studies have suggested a potential link between the Gagr gene function and stress responses. (2) Methods: We compared flies with Gagr gene knockdown in all tissues to control flies in physiological tests and RNA-sequencing experiments. (3) Results: Flies with the Gagr gene knockdown exhibited shorter lifespans compared to control flies. Transcriptome analysis revealed that Gagr knockdown flies showed elevated transcription levels of immune response genes. We used ammonium persulfate, a potent stress inducer, to elicit a stress response. In control flies, ammonium persulfate activated the Toll, JAK/STAT, and JNK/MAPK signaling pathways. In contrast, flies with the Gagr gene knockdown displayed reduced expression of stress response genes. Gene ontology enrichment analysis identified categories of genes upregulated under ammonium persulfate stress in control flies but not in Gagr knockdown flies. These genes are involved in developmental control, morphogenesis, and central nervous system function. (4) Conclusion: Our findings indicate the significance of the Gagr gene in maintaining immune response and homeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yevgenia Balakireva
- Department of Genetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (Y.B.); (M.N.); (I.K.); (I.K.); (A.K.)
| | - Maria Nikitina
- Department of Genetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (Y.B.); (M.N.); (I.K.); (I.K.); (A.K.)
| | - Pavel Makhnovskii
- Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, 123007 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Inna Kukushkina
- Department of Genetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (Y.B.); (M.N.); (I.K.); (I.K.); (A.K.)
| | - Ilya Kuzmin
- Department of Genetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (Y.B.); (M.N.); (I.K.); (I.K.); (A.K.)
| | - Alexander Kim
- Department of Genetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (Y.B.); (M.N.); (I.K.); (I.K.); (A.K.)
- Faculty of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Longgang District, Shenzhen 518172, China
| | - Lidia Nefedova
- Department of Genetics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, 119991 Moscow, Russia; (Y.B.); (M.N.); (I.K.); (I.K.); (A.K.)
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6
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Brown JC, McMichael BD, Vandadi V, Mukherjee A, Salzler HR, Matera AG. Lysine-36 of Drosophila histone H3.3 supports adult longevity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.28.559962. [PMID: 38196611 PMCID: PMC10775331 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.28.559962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Aging is a multifactorial process that disturbs homeostasis, increases disease susceptibility, and ultimately results in death. Although the definitive set of molecular mechanisms responsible for aging remain to be discovered, epigenetic change over time is proving to be a promising piece of the puzzle. Several posttranslational histone modifications (PTMs) have been linked to the maintenance of longevity. Here, we focus on lysine-36 of the replication-independent histone protein, H3.3 (H3.3K36). To interrogate the role of this residue in Drosophila developmental gene regulation, we generated a lysine to arginine mutant that blocks the activity of its cognate modifying enzymes. We found that an H3.3BK36R mutation causes a significant reduction in adult lifespan, accompanied by dysregulation of the genomic and transcriptomic architecture. Transgenic co-expression of wild-type H3.3B completely rescues the longevity defect. Because H3.3 is known to accumulate in non-dividing tissues, we carried out transcriptome profiling of young vs aged adult fly heads. The data show that loss of H3.3K36 results in age-dependent misexpression of NF-κB and other innate immune target genes, as well as defects in silencing of heterochromatin. We propose H3.3K36 maintains the postmitotic epigenomic landscape, supporting longevity by regulating both pericentric and telomeric retrotransposons and by suppressing aberrant immune signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C. Brown
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin D. McMichael
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Vasudha Vandadi
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Aadit Mukherjee
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Harmony R. Salzler
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - A. Gregory Matera
- Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- RNA Discovery Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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7
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Gruntenko NE, Deryuzhenko MA, Andreenkova OV, Shishkina OD, Bobrovskikh MA, Shatskaya NV, Vasiliev GV. Drosophila melanogaster Transcriptome Response to Different Wolbachia Strains. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:17411. [PMID: 38139239 PMCID: PMC10743526 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242417411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Wolbachia is a maternally inherited, intercellular bacterial symbiont of insects and some other invertebrates. Here, we investigated the effect of two different Wolbachia strains, differing in a large chromosomal inversion, on the differential expression of genes in D. melanogaster females. We revealed significant changes in the transcriptome of the infected flies compared to the uninfected ones, as well as in the transcriptome of flies infected with the Wolbachia strain, wMelPlus, compared to flies infected with the wMelCS112 strain. We linked differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from two pairwise comparisons, "uninfected-wMelPlus-infected" and "uninfected-wMelCS112-infected", into two gene networks, in which the following functional groups were designated: "Proteolysis", "Carbohydrate transport and metabolism", "Oxidation-reduction process", "Embryogenesis", "Transmembrane transport", "Response to stress" and "Alkaline phosphatases". Our data emphasized similarities and differences between infections by different strains under study: a wMelPlus infection results in more than double the number of upregulated DEGs and half the number of downregulated DEGs compared to a wMelCS112 infection. Thus, we demonstrated that Wolbachia made a significant contribution to differential expression of host genes and that the bacterial genotype plays a vital role in establishing the character of this contribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nataly E. Gruntenko
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; (M.A.D.); (O.V.A.); (O.D.S.); (M.A.B.); (N.V.S.); (G.V.V.)
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8
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Wang JB, Lu HL, Sheng H, St Leger RJ. A Drosophila melanogaster model shows that fast growing Metarhizium species are the deadliest despite eliciting a strong immune response. Virulence 2023; 14:2275493. [PMID: 37941391 PMCID: PMC10732690 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2023.2275493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
We used Drosophila melanogaster to investigate how differences between Metarhizium species in growth rate and mechanisms of pathogenesis influence the outcome of infection. We found that the most rapid germinators and growers in vitro and on fly cuticle were the fastest killers, suggesting that pre-penetration competence is key to Metarhizium success. Virulent strains also induced the largest immune response, which did not depend on profuse growth within hosts as virulent toxin-producing strains only proliferated post-mortem while slow-killing strains that were specialized to other insects grew profusely pre-mortem. Metarhizium strains have apparently evolved resistance to widely distributed defenses such as the defensin Toll product drosomycin, but they were inhibited by Bomanins only found in Drosophila spp. Disrupting a gene (Dif), that mediates Toll immunity has little impact on the lethality of most Metarhizium strains (an exception being the early diverged M. frigidum and another insect pathogen Beauveria bassiana). However, disrupting the sensor of fungal proteases (Persephone) allowed rapid proliferation of strains within hosts (with the exception of M. album), and flies succumbed rapidly. Persephone also mediates gender differences in immune responses that determine whether male or female flies die sooner. We conclude that some strain differences in growth within hosts depend on immune-mediated interactions but intrinsic differences in pathogenic mechanisms are more important. Thus, Drosophila varies greatly in tolerance to different Metarhizium strains, in part because some of them produce toxins. Our results further develop D. melanogaster as a tractable model system for understanding insect-Metarhizium interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan B Wang
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Hsiao-Ling Lu
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Huiyu Sheng
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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9
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Smith BR, Patch KB, Gupta A, Knoles EM, Unckless RL. The genetic basis of variation in immune defense against Lysinibacillus fusiformis infection in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1010934. [PMID: 37549163 PMCID: PMC10434897 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The genetic causes of phenotypic variation often differ depending on the population examined, particularly if the populations were founded by relatively small numbers of genotypes. Similarly, the genetic causes of phenotypic variation among similar traits (resistance to different xenobiotic compounds or pathogens) may also be completely different or only partially overlapping. Differences in genetic causes for variation in the same trait among populations suggests context dependence for how selection acts on those traits. Similarities in the genetic causes of variation for different traits, on the other hand, suggests pleiotropy which would also influence how natural selection shapes variation in a trait. We characterized immune defense against a natural Drosophila pathogen, the Gram-positive bacterium Lysinibacillus fusiformis, in three different populations and found almost no overlap in the genetic architecture of variation in survival post infection. However, when comparing our results to a similar experiment with the fungal pathogen, B. bassiana, we found a convincing shared QTL peak for both pathogens. This peak contains the Bomanin cluster of Drosophila immune effectors. Loss of function mutants and RNAi knockdown experiments confirms a role of some of these genes in immune defense against both pathogens. This suggests that natural selection may act on the entire cluster of Bomanin genes (and the linked region under the QTL) or specific peptides for specific pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittny R. Smith
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Kistie B. Patch
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Anjali Gupta
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Emma M. Knoles
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Robert L. Unckless
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
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10
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Cabrera K, Hoard DS, Gibson O, Martinez DI, Wunderlich Z. Drosophila immune priming to Enterococcus faecalis relies on immune tolerance rather than resistance. PLoS Pathog 2023; 19:e1011567. [PMID: 37566589 PMCID: PMC10446173 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Innate immune priming increases an organism's survival of a second infection after an initial, non-lethal infection. We used Drosophila melanogaster and an insect-derived strain of Enterococcus faecalis to study transcriptional control of priming. In contrast to other pathogens, the enhanced survival in primed animals does not correlate with decreased E. faecalis load. Further analysis shows that primed organisms tolerate, rather than resist infection. Using RNA-seq of immune tissues, we found many genes were upregulated in only primed flies, suggesting a distinct transcriptional program in response to initial and secondary infections. In contrast, few genes continuously express throughout the experiment or more efficiently re-activate upon reinfection. Priming experiments in immune deficient mutants revealed Imd is largely dispensable for responding to a single infection but needed to fully prime. Together, this indicates the fly's innate immune response is plastic-differing in immune strategy, transcriptional program, and pathway use depending on infection history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Cabrera
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Duncan S. Hoard
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Olivia Gibson
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Daniel I. Martinez
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Zeba Wunderlich
- Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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11
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Fisher WW, Hammonds AS, Weiszmann R, Booth BW, Gevirtzman L, Patton JEJ, Kubo CA, Waterston RH, Celniker SE. A modERN resource: identification of Drosophila transcription factor candidate target genes using RNAi. Genetics 2023; 223:iyad004. [PMID: 36652461 PMCID: PMC10078917 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription factors (TFs) play a key role in development and in cellular responses to the environment by activating or repressing the transcription of target genes in precise spatial and temporal patterns. In order to develop a catalog of target genes of Drosophila melanogaster TFs, the modERN consortium systematically knocked down the expression of TFs using RNAi in whole embryos followed by RNA-seq. We generated data for 45 TFs which have 18 different DNA-binding domains and are expressed in 15 of the 16 organ systems. The range of inactivation of the targeted TFs by RNAi ranged from log2fold change -3.52 to +0.49. The TFs also showed remarkable heterogeneity in the numbers of candidate target genes identified, with some generating thousands of candidates and others only tens. We present detailed analysis from five experiments, including those for three TFs that have been the focus of previous functional studies (ERR, sens, and zfh2) and two previously uncharacterized TFs (sens-2 and CG32006), as well as short vignettes for selected additional experiments to illustrate the utility of this resource. The RNA-seq datasets are available through the ENCODE DCC (http://encodeproject.org) and the Sequence Read Archive (SRA). TF and target gene expression patterns can be found here: https://insitu.fruitfly.org. These studies provide data that facilitate scientific inquiries into the functions of individual TFs in key developmental, metabolic, defensive, and homeostatic regulatory pathways, as well as provide a broader perspective on how individual TFs work together in local networks during embryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- William W Fisher
- Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Ann S Hammonds
- Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Richard Weiszmann
- Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin W Booth
- Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Louis Gevirtzman
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Jaeda E J Patton
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Connor A Kubo
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Robert H Waterston
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Susan E Celniker
- Division of Biological Systems and Engineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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12
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Huang J, Lou Y, Liu J, Bulet P, Cai C, Ma K, Jiao R, Hoffmann JA, Liégeois S, Li Z, Ferrandon D. A Toll pathway effector protects Drosophila specifically from distinct toxins secreted by a fungus or a bacterium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2205140120. [PMID: 36917667 PMCID: PMC10041126 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2205140120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The Drosophila systemic immune response against many Gram-positive bacteria and fungi is mediated by the Toll pathway. How Toll-regulated effectors actually fulfill this role remains poorly understood as the known Toll-regulated antimicrobial peptide (AMP) genes are active only against filamentous fungi and not against Gram-positive bacteria or yeasts. Besides AMPs, two families of peptides secreted in response to infectious stimuli that activate the Toll pathway have been identified, namely Bomanins and peptides derived from a polyprotein precursor known as Baramicin A (BaraA). Unexpectedly, the deletion of a cluster of 10 Bomanins phenocopies the Toll mutant phenotype of susceptibility to infections. Here, we demonstrate that BaraA is required specifically in the host defense against Enterococcus faecalis and against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium robertsii, albeit the fungal burden is not altered in BaraA mutants. BaraA protects the fly from the action of distinct toxins secreted by these Gram-positive and fungal pathogens, respectively, Enterocin V and Destruxin A. The injection of Destruxin A leads to the rapid paralysis of flies, whether wild type (WT) or mutant. However, a larger fraction of wild-type than BaraA flies recovers from paralysis within 5 to 10 h. BaraAs' function in protecting the host from the deleterious action of Destruxin is required in glial cells, highlighting a resilience role for the Toll pathway in the nervous system against microbial virulence factors. Thus, in complement to the current paradigm, innate immunity can cope effectively with the effects of toxins secreted by pathogens through the secretion of dedicated peptides, independently of xenobiotics detoxification pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianqiong Huang
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
| | - Yanyan Lou
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
| | - Jiyong Liu
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
| | - Philippe Bulet
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, INSERM U1209, CNRS, UMR 5309, 38000Grenoble, France
- Platform BioPark Archamps, 74160Archamps, France
| | - Chuping Cai
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
- Université de Strasbourg, Faculté des Sciences de la Vie, 67000Strasbourg, France
- Modèles Insectes d'Immunité Innée, Unité Propre de Recherche 9022 du CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084Strasbourg, France
| | - Kaiyu Ma
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
| | - Renjie Jiao
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
| | - Jules A. Hoffmann
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
- Université de Strasbourg, Faculté des Sciences de la Vie, 67000Strasbourg, France
- Modèles Insectes d'Immunité Innée, Unité Propre de Recherche 9022 du CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084Strasbourg, France
- Université de Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study, 67000Strasbourg, France
| | - Samuel Liégeois
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
- Université de Strasbourg, Faculté des Sciences de la Vie, 67000Strasbourg, France
- Modèles Insectes d'Immunité Innée, Unité Propre de Recherche 9022 du CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084Strasbourg, France
| | - Zi Li
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
| | - Dominique Ferrandon
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou511436, China
- Université de Strasbourg, Faculté des Sciences de la Vie, 67000Strasbourg, France
- Modèles Insectes d'Immunité Innée, Unité Propre de Recherche 9022 du CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084Strasbourg, France
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13
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Unraveling the Role of Antimicrobial Peptides in Insects. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24065753. [PMID: 36982826 PMCID: PMC10059942 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24065753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short, mainly positively charged, amphipathic molecules. AMPs are important effectors of the immune response in insects with a broad spectrum of antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic activity. In addition to these well-known roles, AMPs exhibit many other, often unobvious, functions in the host. They support insects in the elimination of viral infections. AMPs participate in the regulation of brain-controlled processes, e.g., sleep and non-associative learning. By influencing neuronal health, communication, and activity, they can affect the functioning of the insect nervous system. Expansion of the AMP repertoire and loss of their specificity is connected with the aging process and lifespan of insects. Moreover, AMPs take part in maintaining gut homeostasis, regulating the number of endosymbionts as well as reducing the number of foreign microbiota. In turn, the presence of AMPs in insect venom prevents the spread of infection in social insects, where the prey may be a source of pathogens.
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14
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Yan S, Li N, Guo Y, Chen Y, Ji C, Yin M, Shen J, Zhang J. Chronic exposure to the star polycation (SPc) nanocarrier in the larval stage adversely impairs life history traits in Drosophila melanogaster. J Nanobiotechnology 2022; 20:515. [PMID: 36482441 PMCID: PMC9730587 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-022-01705-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nanomaterials are widely used as pesticide adjuvants to increase pesticide efficiency and minimize environmental pollution. But it is increasingly recognized that nanocarrier is a double-edged sword, as nanoparticles are emerging as new environmental pollutants. This study aimed to determine the biotoxicity of a widely applied star polycation (SPc) nanocarrier using Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, as an in vivo model. RESULTS The lethal concentration 50 (LC50) value of SPc was identified as 2.14 g/L toward third-instar larvae and 26.33 g/L for adults. Chronic exposure to a sub lethal concentration of SPc (1 g/L) in the larval stage showed long-lasting adverse effects on key life history traits. Exposure to SPc at larval stage adversely impacted the lifespan, fertility, climbing ability as well as stresses resistance of emerged adults. RNA-sequencing analysis found that SPc resulted in aberrant expression of genes involved in metabolism, innate immunity, stress response and hormone production in the larvae. Orally administrated SPc nanoparticles were mainly accumulated in intestine cells, while systemic responses were observed. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that SPc nanoparticles are hazardous to fruit flies at multiple levels, which could help us to develop guidelines for further large-scale application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Yan
- grid.22935.3f0000 0004 0530 8290Department of Plant Biosecurity and MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China
| | - Na Li
- grid.22935.3f0000 0004 0530 8290Department of Plant Biosecurity and MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China
| | - Yuankang Guo
- grid.22935.3f0000 0004 0530 8290Department of Plant Biosecurity and MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China
| | - Yao Chen
- grid.22935.3f0000 0004 0530 8290Department of Plant Biosecurity and MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China
| | - Chendong Ji
- grid.48166.3d0000 0000 9931 8406State Key Lab of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Lab of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Meizhen Yin
- grid.48166.3d0000 0000 9931 8406State Key Lab of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing Lab of Biomedical Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Shen
- grid.22935.3f0000 0004 0530 8290Department of Plant Biosecurity and MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China
| | - Junzheng Zhang
- grid.22935.3f0000 0004 0530 8290Department of Plant Biosecurity and MARA Key Laboratory of Surveillance and Management for Plant Quarantine Pests, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193 China
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15
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Ding SD, Leitão AB, Day JP, Arunkumar R, Phillips M, Zhou SO, Jiggins FM. Trans-regulatory changes underpin the evolution of the Drosophila immune response. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010453. [PMID: 36342922 PMCID: PMC9671443 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
When an animal is infected, the expression of a large suite of genes is changed, resulting in an immune response that can defend the host. Despite much evidence that the sequence of proteins in the immune system can evolve rapidly, the evolution of gene expression is comparatively poorly understood. We therefore investigated the transcriptional response to parasitoid wasp infection in Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia. Although these species are closely related, there has been a large scale divergence in the expression of immune-responsive genes in their two main immune tissues, the fat body and hemocytes. Many genes, including those encoding molecules that directly kill pathogens, have cis regulatory changes, frequently resulting in large differences in their expression in the two species. However, these changes in cis regulation overwhelmingly affected gene expression in immune-challenged and uninfected animals alike. Divergence in the response to infection was controlled in trans. We argue that altering trans-regulatory factors, such as signalling pathways or immune modulators, may allow natural selection to alter the expression of large numbers of immune-responsive genes in a coordinated fashion. A fundamental question in biology is the nature of the genetic changes underlying evolutionary change, and immune systems provide an ideal system to examine this as they tend to evolve fast as animals adapt to an ever-changing array of parasites and pathogens. Comparing two species of the fruit fly Drosophila, we found that the transcriptional response to infection evolves extremely fast. However, changes in cis (where the genetic change is on the same DNA molecule as the gene in question) and trans (where the genetic change can be elsewhere in the genome) are playing different roles. Changes in cis frequently caused large differences in immune gene expression between species, but these differences were seen regardless of whether the animal was infected. In contrast, changes in trans were responsible for altering how gene expression changes in response to infection. Immune responses are complex and multifaceted, requiring the expression of many genes to be altered in a tightly regulated manner when the animal is infected. Natural selection acting on trans regulatory factors may allow the expression of many downstream genes to be altered in a coordinated fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexandre B. Leitão
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Jonathan P. Day
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Ramesh Arunkumar
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Morgan Phillips
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Shuyu Olivia Zhou
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Francis M. Jiggins
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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16
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Xu R, Lou Y, Tidu A, Bulet P, Heinekamp T, Martin F, Brakhage A, Li Z, Liégeois S, Ferrandon D. The Toll pathway mediates Drosophila resilience to Aspergillus mycotoxins through specific Bomanins. EMBO Rep 2022; 24:e56036. [PMID: 36322050 PMCID: PMC9827548 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202256036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Host defense against infections encompasses both resistance, which targets microorganisms for neutralization or elimination, and resilience/disease tolerance, which allows the host to withstand/tolerate pathogens and repair damages. In Drosophila, the Toll signaling pathway is thought to mediate resistance against fungal infections by regulating the secretion of antimicrobial peptides, potentially including Bomanins. We find that Aspergillus fumigatus kills Drosophila Toll pathway mutants without invasion because its dissemination is blocked by melanization, suggesting a role for Toll in host defense distinct from resistance. We report that mutants affecting the Toll pathway or the 55C Bomanin locus are susceptible to the injection of two Aspergillus mycotoxins, restrictocin and verruculogen. The vulnerability of 55C deletion mutants to these mycotoxins is rescued by the overexpression of Bomanins specific to each challenge. Mechanistically, flies in which BomS6 is expressed in the nervous system exhibit an enhanced recovery from the tremors induced by injected verruculogen and display improved survival. Thus, innate immunity also protects the host against the action of microbial toxins through secreted peptides and thereby increases its resilience to infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Xu
- Sino‐French Hoffmann InstituteGuangzhou Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina,Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance,Modèles Insectes de l'Immunité InnéeUPR 9022 du CNRSStrasbourgFrance
| | - Yanyan Lou
- Sino‐French Hoffmann InstituteGuangzhou Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina,Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance,Modèles Insectes de l'Immunité InnéeUPR 9022 du CNRSStrasbourgFrance
| | - Antonin Tidu
- Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance,Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARNUPR 9002 du CNRSStrasbourgFrance
| | - Philippe Bulet
- CR Université Grenoble Alpes, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Inserm U1209CNRS UMR 5309GrenobleFrance,Platform BioPark ArchampsArchampsFrance
| | - Thorsten Heinekamp
- Department of Molecular and Applied MicrobiologyLeibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology ‐ Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz‐HKI)JenaGermany
| | - Franck Martin
- Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance,Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARNUPR 9002 du CNRSStrasbourgFrance
| | - Axel Brakhage
- Department of Molecular and Applied MicrobiologyLeibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology ‐ Hans Knöll Institute (Leibniz‐HKI)JenaGermany,Institute of MicrobiologyFriedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
| | - Zi Li
- Sino‐French Hoffmann InstituteGuangzhou Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Samuel Liégeois
- Sino‐French Hoffmann InstituteGuangzhou Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina,Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance,Modèles Insectes de l'Immunité InnéeUPR 9022 du CNRSStrasbourgFrance
| | - Dominique Ferrandon
- Sino‐French Hoffmann InstituteGuangzhou Medical UniversityGuangzhouChina,Université de StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance,Modèles Insectes de l'Immunité InnéeUPR 9022 du CNRSStrasbourgFrance
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17
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Nishide Y, Nagamine K, Kageyama D, Moriyama M, Futahashi R, Fukatsu T. A new antimicrobial peptide, Pentatomicin, from the stinkbug Plautia stali. Sci Rep 2022; 12:16503. [PMID: 36192417 PMCID: PMC9529961 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20427-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play crucial roles in the innate immunity of diverse organisms, which exhibit remarkable diversity in size, structural property and antimicrobial spectrum. Here, we describe a new AMP, named Pentatomicin, from the stinkbug Plautia stali (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Orthologous nucleotide sequences of Pentatomicin were present in stinkbugs and beetles but not in other insect groups. Notably, orthologous sequences were also detected from a horseshoe crab, cyanobacteria and proteobacteria, suggesting the possibility of inter-domain horizontal gene transfers of Pentatomicin and allied protein genes. The recombinant protein of Pentatomicin was effective against an array of Gram-positive bacteria but not against Gram-negative bacteria. Upon septic shock, the expression of Pentatomicin drastically increased in a manner similar to other AMPs. On the other hand, unlike other AMPs, mock and saline injections increased the expression of Pentatomicin. RNAi-mediated downregulation of Imd pathway genes (Imd and Relish) and Toll pathway genes (MyD88 and Dorsal) revealed that the expression of Pentatomicin is under the control of Toll pathway. Being consistent with in vitro effectiveness of the recombinant protein, adult insects injected with dsRNA of Pentatomicin exhibited higher vulnerability to Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus than to Gram-negative Escherichia coli. We discovered high levels of Pentatomicin expression in eggs, which is atypical of other AMPs and suggestive of its biological functioning in eggs. Contrary to the expectation, however, RNAi-mediated downregulation of Pentatomicin did not affect normal embryonic development of P. stali. Moreover, the downregulation of Pentatomicin in eggs did not affect vertical symbiont transmission to the offspring even under heavily contaminated conditions, which refuted our expectation that the antimicrobial activity of Pentatomicin may contribute to egg surface-mediated symbiont transmission by suppressing microbial contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yudai Nishide
- grid.416835.d0000 0001 2222 0432Institute of Agrobiological Sciences Ohwashi, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, 305-8634 Japan
| | - Keisuke Nagamine
- grid.416835.d0000 0001 2222 0432Institute of Agrobiological Sciences Ohwashi, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, 305-8634 Japan ,grid.54432.340000 0001 0860 6072Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, 102-0083 Japan
| | - Daisuke Kageyama
- grid.416835.d0000 0001 2222 0432Institute of Agrobiological Sciences Ohwashi, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, 305-8634 Japan
| | - Minoru Moriyama
- grid.208504.b0000 0001 2230 7538National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, 305-8566 Japan
| | - Ryo Futahashi
- grid.208504.b0000 0001 2230 7538National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, 305-8566 Japan
| | - Takema Fukatsu
- grid.208504.b0000 0001 2230 7538National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, 305-8566 Japan ,grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan ,grid.20515.330000 0001 2369 4728Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8572 Japan
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18
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Hanson MA, Kondo S, Lemaitre B. Drosophila immunity: the Drosocin gene encodes two host defence peptides with pathogen-specific roles. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220773. [PMID: 35730150 PMCID: PMC9233930 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key to defence against infection in plants and animals. Use of AMP mutations in Drosophila has now revealed that AMPs can additively or synergistically contribute to defence in vivo. However, these studies also revealed high specificity, wherein just one AMP contributes an outsized role in combatting a specific pathogen. Here, we show the Drosocin locus (CG10816) is more complex than previously described. In addition to its namesake peptide 'Drosocin', it encodes a second mature peptide from a precursor via furin cleavage. This peptide corresponds to the previously uncharacterized 'Immune-induced Molecule 7'. A polymorphism (Thr52Ala) in the Drosocin precursor protein previously masked the identification of this peptide, which we name 'Buletin'. Using mutations differently affecting Drosocin and Buletin, we show that only Drosocin contributes to Drosocin gene-mediated defence against Enterobacter cloacae. Strikingly, we observed that Buletin, but not Drosocin, contributes to the Drosocin gene-mediated defence against Providencia burhodogranariea, including an importance of the Thr52Ala polymorphism for survival. Our study reveals that the Drosocin gene encodes two prominent host defence peptides with different specificity against distinct pathogens. This finding emphasizes the complexity of the Drosophila humoral response and demonstrates how natural polymorphisms can affect host susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. A. Hanson
- Global Health Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - S. Kondo
- Invertebrate Genetics Laboratory, Genetic Strains Research Center, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
| | - B. Lemaitre
- Global Health Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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19
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Mutations of γCOP Gene Disturb Drosophila melanogaster Innate Immune Response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23126499. [PMID: 35742941 PMCID: PMC9223523 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly) is a valuable experimental platform for modeling host–pathogen interactions. It is also commonly used to define innate immunity pathways and to understand the mechanisms of both host tolerance to commensal microbiota and response to pathogenic agents. Herein, we investigate how the host response to bacterial infection is mirrored in the expression of genes of Imd and Toll pathways when D. melanogaster strains with different γCOP genetic backgrounds are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. Using microarray technology, we have interrogated the whole-body transcriptome of infected versus uninfected fruit fly males with three specific genotypes, namely wild-type Oregon, γCOPS057302/TM6B and γCOP14a/γCOP14a. While the expression of genes pertaining to Imd and Toll is not significantly modulated by P. aeruginosa infection in Oregon males, many of the components of these cascades are up- or downregulated in both infected and uninfected γCOPS057302/TM6B and γCOP14a/γCOP14a males. Thus, our results suggest that a γCOP genetic background modulates the gene expression profiles of Imd and Toll cascades involved in the innate immune response of D. melanogaster, inducing the occurrence of immunological dysfunctions in γCOP mutants.
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20
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Waring AL, Hill J, Allen BM, Bretz NM, Le N, Kr P, Fuss D, Mortimer NT. Meta-Analysis of Immune Induced Gene Expression Changes in Diverse Drosophila melanogaster Innate Immune Responses. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13050490. [PMID: 35621824 PMCID: PMC9147463 DOI: 10.3390/insects13050490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Organisms can be infected by a wide range of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Following infection, the host mounts an immune response to attempt to eliminate the pathogen. These responses are often specific to the type of pathogen and mediated by the expression of specialized genes. We have characterized the expression changes induced in host Drosophila fruit flies following infection by multiple types of pathogens, and identified a small number of genes that show expression changes in each infection. This includes genes that are known to be involved in pathogen resistance, and others that have not been previously studied as immune response genes. These findings provide new insight into transcriptional changes that accompany Drosophila immunity. They may suggest possible roles for the differentially expressed genes in innate immune responses to diverse classes of pathogens, and serve to identify candidate genes for further empirical study of these processes. Abstract Organisms are commonly infected by a diverse array of pathogens and mount functionally distinct responses to each of these varied immune challenges. Host immune responses are characterized by the induction of gene expression, however, the extent to which expression changes are shared among responses to distinct pathogens is largely unknown. To examine this, we performed meta-analysis of gene expression data collected from Drosophila melanogaster following infection with a wide array of pathogens. We identified 62 genes that are significantly induced by infection. While many of these infection-induced genes encode known immune response factors, we also identified 21 genes that have not been previously associated with host immunity. Examination of the upstream flanking sequences of the infection-induced genes lead to the identification of two conserved enhancer sites. These sites correspond to conserved binding sites for GATA and nuclear factor κB (NFκB) family transcription factors and are associated with higher levels of transcript induction. We further identified 31 genes with predicted functions in metabolism and organismal development that are significantly downregulated following infection by diverse pathogens. Our study identifies conserved gene expression changes in Drosophila melanogaster following infection with varied pathogens, and transcription factor families that may regulate this immune induction.
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21
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A nutrient-specific gut hormone arbitrates between courtship and feeding. Nature 2022; 602:632-638. [PMID: 35140404 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04408-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Animals must set behavioural priority in a context-dependent manner and switch from one behaviour to another at the appropriate moment1-3. Here we probe the molecular and neuronal mechanisms that orchestrate the transition from feeding to courtship in Drosophila melanogaster. We find that feeding is prioritized over courtship in starved males, and the consumption of protein-rich food rapidly reverses this order within a few minutes. At the molecular level, a gut-derived, nutrient-specific neuropeptide hormone-Diuretic hormone 31 (Dh31)-propels a switch from feeding to courtship. We further address the underlying kinetics with calcium imaging experiments. Amino acids from food acutely activate Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells in the gut, increasing Dh31 levels in the circulation. In addition, three-photon functional imaging of intact flies shows that optogenetic stimulation of Dh31+ enteroendocrine cells rapidly excites a subset of brain neurons that express Dh31 receptor (Dh31R). Gut-derived Dh31 excites the brain neurons through the circulatory system within a few minutes, in line with the speed of the feeding-courtship behavioural switch. At the circuit level, there are two distinct populations of Dh31R+ neurons in the brain, with one population inhibiting feeding through allatostatin-C and the other promoting courtship through corazonin. Together, our findings illustrate a mechanism by which the consumption of protein-rich food triggers the release of a gut hormone, which in turn prioritizes courtship over feeding through two parallel pathways.
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22
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Carboni AL, Hanson MA, Lindsay SA, Wasserman SA, Lemaitre B. Cecropins contribute to Drosophila host defense against a subset of fungal and Gram-negative bacterial infection. Genetics 2021; 220:6428541. [PMID: 34791204 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyab188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cecropins are small helical secreted peptides with antimicrobial activity that are widely distributed among insects. Genes encoding cecropins are strongly induced upon infection, pointing to their role in host-defense. In Drosophila, four cecropin genes clustered in the genome (CecA1, CecA2, CecB and CecC) are expressed upon infection downstream of the Toll and Imd pathways. In this study, we generated a short deletion ΔCecA-C removing the whole cecropin locus. Using the ΔCecA-C deficiency alone or in combination with other antimicrobial peptide (AMP) mutations, we addressed the function of cecropins in the systemic immune response. ΔCecA-C flies were viable and resisted challenge with various microbes as wild-type. However, removing ΔCecA-C in flies already lacking ten other AMP genes revealed a role for cecropins in defense against Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Measurements of pathogen loads confirm that cecropins contribute to the control of certain Gram-negative bacteria, notably Enterobacter cloacae and Providencia heimbachae. Collectively, our work provides the first genetic demonstration of a role for cecropins in insect host defense, and confirms their in vivo activity primarily against Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Generation of a fly line (ΔAMP14) that lacks fourteen immune inducible AMPs provides a powerful tool to address the function of these immune effectors in host-pathogen interactions and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexia L Carboni
- Global Health Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mark A Hanson
- Global Health Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Scott A Lindsay
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Steven A Wasserman
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego (UCSD), La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Bruno Lemaitre
- Global Health Institute, School of Life Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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23
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You S, Yu AM, Roberts MA, Joseph IJ, Jackson FR. Circadian regulation of the Drosophila astrocyte transcriptome. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009790. [PMID: 34543266 PMCID: PMC8483315 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated that astrocytes cooperate with neurons of the brain to mediate circadian control of many rhythmic processes including locomotor activity and sleep. Transcriptional profiling studies have described the overall rhythmic landscape of the brain, but few have employed approaches that reveal heterogeneous, cell-type specific rhythms of the brain. Using cell-specific isolation of ribosome-bound RNAs in Drosophila, we constructed the first circadian “translatome” for astrocytes. This analysis identified 293 “cycling genes” in astrocytes, most with mammalian orthologs. A subsequent behavioral genetic screen identified a number of genes whose expression is required in astrocytes for normal sleep behavior. In particular, we show that certain genes known to regulate fly innate immune responses are also required for normal sleep patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha You
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Alder M Yu
- Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Mary A Roberts
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Ivanna J Joseph
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - F Rob Jackson
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
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24
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Shahrestani P, King E, Ramezan R, Phillips M, Riddle M, Thornburg M, Greenspan Z, Estrella Y, Garcia K, Chowdhury P, Malarat G, Zhu M, Rottshaefer SM, Wraight S, Griggs M, Vandenberg J, Long AD, Clark AG, Lazzaro BP. The molecular architecture of Drosophila melanogaster defense against Beauveria bassiana explored through evolve and resequence and quantitative trait locus mapping. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2021; 11:6371870. [PMID: 34534291 PMCID: PMC8664422 DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkab324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about the genetic architecture of antifungal immunity in natural populations. Using two population genetic approaches, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and evolve and resequence (E&R), we explored D. melanogaster immune defense against infection with the fungus Beauveria bassiana. The immune defense was highly variable both in the recombinant inbred lines from the Drosophila Synthetic Population Resource used for our QTL mapping and in the synthetic outbred populations used in our E&R study. Survivorship of infection improved dramatically over just 10 generations in the E&R study, and continued to increase for an additional nine generations, revealing a trade-off with uninfected longevity. Populations selected for increased defense against B. bassiana evolved cross resistance to a second, distinct B. bassiana strain but not to bacterial pathogens. The QTL mapping study revealed that sexual dimorphism in defense depends on host genotype, and the E&R study indicated that sexual dimorphism also depends on the specific pathogen to which the host is exposed. Both the QTL mapping and E&R experiments generated lists of potentially causal candidate genes, although these lists were nonoverlapping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parvin Shahrestani
- Department of Biological Science, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton CA, 92831, USA
| | - Elizabeth King
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia MO, 65211, USA
| | - Reza Ramezan
- Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Mark Phillips
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR, 97331, USA
| | - Melissa Riddle
- Department of Biological Science, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton CA, 92831, USA
| | - Marisa Thornburg
- Department of Biological Science, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton CA, 92831, USA
| | - Zachary Greenspan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine CA, 92692, USA
| | | | - Kelly Garcia
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - Pratik Chowdhury
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - Glen Malarat
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - Ming Zhu
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | | | - Stephen Wraight
- USDA ARS Emerging Pets and Pathogens Research Unit, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - Michael Griggs
- USDA ARS Emerging Pets and Pathogens Research Unit, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - John Vandenberg
- USDA ARS Emerging Pets and Pathogens Research Unit, Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - Anthony D Long
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine CA, 92692, USA
| | - Andrew G Clark
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
| | - Brian P Lazzaro
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853, USA
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25
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The Drosophila Baramicin polypeptide gene protects against fungal infection. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009846. [PMID: 34432851 PMCID: PMC8423362 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster combats microbial infection by producing a battery of effector peptides that are secreted into the haemolymph. Technical difficulties prevented the investigation of these short effector genes until the recent advent of the CRISPR/CAS era. As a consequence, many putative immune effectors remain to be formally described, and exactly how each of these effectors contribute to survival is not well characterized. Here we describe a novel Drosophila antifungal peptide gene that we name Baramicin A. We show that BaraA encodes a precursor protein cleaved into multiple peptides via furin cleavage sites. BaraA is strongly immune-induced in the fat body downstream of the Toll pathway, but also exhibits expression in other tissues. Importantly, we show that flies lacking BaraA are viable but susceptible to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. Consistent with BaraA being directly antimicrobial, overexpression of BaraA promotes resistance to fungi and the IM10-like peptides produced by BaraA synergistically inhibit growth of fungi in vitro when combined with a membrane-disrupting antifungal. Surprisingly, BaraA mutant males but not females display an erect wing phenotype upon infection. Here, we characterize a new antifungal immune effector downstream of Toll signalling, and show it is a key contributor to the Drosophila antimicrobial response.
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26
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Chen D, Roychowdhury-Sinha A, Prakash P, Lan X, Fan W, Goto A, Hoffmann JA. A time course transcriptomic analysis of host and injected oncogenic cells reveals new aspects of Drosophila immune defenses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2100825118. [PMID: 33737397 PMCID: PMC8000351 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2100825118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Oncogenic RasV12 cells [A. Simcox et al., PLoS Genet 4, e1000142 (2008)] injected into adult males proliferated massively after a lag period of several days, and led to the demise of the flies after 2 to 3 wk. The injection induced an early massive transcriptomic response that, unexpectedly, included more than 100 genes encoding chemoreceptors of various families. The kinetics of induction and the identities of the induced genes differed markedly from the responses generated by injections of microbes. Subsequently, hundreds of genes were up-regulated, attesting to intense catabolic activities in the flies, active tracheogenesis, and cuticulogenesis, as well as stress and inflammation-type responses. At 11 d after the injections, GFP-positive oncogenic cells isolated from the host flies exhibited a markedly different transcriptomic profile from that of the host and distinct from that at the time of their injection, including in particular up-regulated expression of genes typical for cells engaged in the classical antimicrobial response of Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Chen
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangzhou Medical University, 511436 Guangzhou, China;
- Insect Models of Innate Immunity (M3I; UPR9022), CNRS, University of Strasbourg, F-67084 Strasbourg, France
| | | | - Pragya Prakash
- Insect Models of Innate Immunity (M3I; UPR9022), CNRS, University of Strasbourg, F-67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Xiao Lan
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangzhou Medical University, 511436 Guangzhou, China
| | - Wenmin Fan
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangzhou Medical University, 511436 Guangzhou, China
| | - Akira Goto
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangzhou Medical University, 511436 Guangzhou, China;
- Insect Models of Innate Immunity (M3I; UPR9022), CNRS, University of Strasbourg, F-67084 Strasbourg, France
| | - Jules A Hoffmann
- Sino-French Hoffmann Institute, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangzhou Medical University, 511436 Guangzhou, China;
- Insect Models of Innate Immunity (M3I; UPR9022), CNRS, University of Strasbourg, F-67084 Strasbourg, France
- University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study, 67000 Strasbourg, France
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27
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Huang C, Xu R, Liégeois S, Chen D, Li Z, Ferrandon D. Differential Requirements for Mediator Complex Subunits in Drosophila melanogaster Host Defense Against Fungal and Bacterial Pathogens. Front Immunol 2021; 11:478958. [PMID: 33746938 PMCID: PMC7977287 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.478958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The humoral immune response to bacterial or fungal infections in Drosophila relies largely on a transcriptional response mediated by the Toll and Immune deficiency NF-κB pathways. Antimicrobial peptides are potent effectors of these pathways and allow the organism to attack invading pathogens. Dorsal-related Immune Factor (DIF), a transcription factor regulated by the Toll pathway, is required in the host defense against fungal and some Gram-positive bacterial infections. The Mediator complex is involved in the initiation of transcription of most RNA polymerase B (PolB)-dependent genes by forming a functional bridge between transcription factors bound to enhancer regions and the gene promoter region and then recruiting the PolB pre-initiation complex. Mediator is formed by several modules that each comprises several subunits. The Med17 subunit of the head module of Mediator has been shown to be required for the expression of Drosomycin, which encodes a potent antifungal peptide, by binding to DIF. Thus, Mediator is expected to mediate the host defense against pathogens controlled by the Toll pathway-dependent innate immune response. Here, we first focus on the Med31 subunit of the middle module of Mediator and find that it is required in host defense against Aspergillus fumigatus, Enterococcus faecalis, and injected but not topically-applied Metarhizium robertsii. Thus, host defense against M. robertsii requires Dif but not necessarily Med31 in the two distinct infection models. The induction of some Toll-pathway-dependent genes is decreased after a challenge of Med31 RNAi-silenced flies with either A. fumigatus or E. faecalis, while these flies exhibit normal phagocytosis and melanization. We have further tested most Mediator subunits using RNAi by monitoring their survival after challenges to several other microbial infections known to be fought off through DIF. We report that the host defense against specific pathogens involves a distinct set of Mediator subunits with only one subunit for C. glabrata or Erwinia carotovora carotovora, at least one for M. robertsii or a somewhat extended repertoire for A. fumigatus (at least eight subunits) and E. faecalis (eight subunits), with two subunits, Med6 and Med11 being required only against A. fumigatus. Med31 but not Med17 is required in fighting off injected M. robertsii conidia. Thus, the involvement of Mediator in Drosophila innate immunity is more complex than expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuqin Huang
- Sino-French Hoffman Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rui Xu
- Sino-French Hoffman Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Université de Strasbourg, UPR 9022 du CNRS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Samuel Liégeois
- Sino-French Hoffman Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Université de Strasbourg, UPR 9022 du CNRS, Strasbourg, France
| | - Di Chen
- Sino-French Hoffman Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zi Li
- Sino-French Hoffman Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dominique Ferrandon
- Sino-French Hoffman Institute, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Université de Strasbourg, UPR 9022 du CNRS, Strasbourg, France
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28
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Swanson LC, Trujillo EA, Thiede GH, Katzenberger RJ, Shishkova E, Coon JJ, Ganetzky B, Wassarman DA. Survival Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Drosophila Is Increased by Heterozygosity for a Mutation of the NF-κB Innate Immune Response Transcription Factor Relish. Genetics 2020; 216:1117-1136. [PMID: 33109529 PMCID: PMC7768241 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.120.303776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathologies are caused by primary and secondary injuries. Primary injuries result from physical damage to the brain, and secondary injuries arise from cellular responses to primary injuries. A characteristic cellular response is sustained activation of inflammatory pathways commonly mediated by nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) transcription factors. Using a Drosophila melanogaster TBI model, we previously found that the main proximal transcriptional response to primary injuries is triggered by activation of Toll and Imd innate immune response pathways that engage NF-κB factors Dif and Relish (Rel), respectively. Here, we found by mass spectrometry that Rel protein level increased in fly heads at 4-8 hr after TBI. To investigate the necessity of Rel for secondary injuries, we generated a null allele, Reldel , by CRISPR/Cas9 editing. When heterozygous but not homozygous, the Reldel mutation reduced mortality at 24 hr after TBI and increased the lifespan of injured flies. Additionally, the effect of heterozygosity for Reldel on mortality was modulated by genetic background and diet. To identify genes that facilitate effects of Reldel on TBI outcomes, we compared genome-wide mRNA expression profiles of uninjured and injured +/+, +/Reldel , and Reldel /Reldel flies at 4 hr following TBI. Only a few genes changed expression more than twofold in +/Reldel flies relative to +/+ and Reldel /Reldel flies, and they were not canonical innate immune response genes. Therefore, Rel is necessary for TBI-induced secondary injuries but in complex ways involving Rel gene dose, genetic background, diet, and possibly small changes in expression of innate immune response genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura C Swanson
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- Medical Scientist Training Program, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Edna A Trujillo
- Department of Chemistry, College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- National Center for Quantitative Biology of Complex Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Gene H Thiede
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Rebeccah J Katzenberger
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Evgenia Shishkova
- National Center for Quantitative Biology of Complex Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Joshua J Coon
- Department of Chemistry, College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- National Center for Quantitative Biology of Complex Systems, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
- Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Barry Ganetzky
- Department of Genetics, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - David A Wassarman
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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29
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Genome-wide transcriptional effects of deletions of sulphur metabolism genes in Drosophila melanogaster. Redox Biol 2020; 36:101654. [PMID: 32769010 PMCID: PMC7414014 DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2020.101654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the gasotransmitter hydrogen sulphide (H2S), produced by the transsulphuration pathway, has been recognized as a biological mediator playing an important role under normal conditions and in various pathologies in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The transsulphuration pathway (TSP) includes the conversion of homocysteine to cysteine following the breakdown of methionine. In Drosophila melanogaster and other eukaryotes, H2S is produced by cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), and 3-mercaptopyruvate sulphurtransferase (MST). In the experiments performed in this study, we were able to explore the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to obtain single and double deletions in homozygotes of these three major genes responsible for H2S production in Drosophila melanogaster. In most cases, the deletion of one studied gene does not result in the compensatory induction of two other genes responsible for H2S production. Transcriptomic studies demonstrated that the deletions of the above CBS and CSE genes alter genome expression to different degrees, with a more pronounced effect being exerted by deletion of the CBS gene. Furthermore, the double deletion of both CBS and CSE resulted in a cumulative effect on transcription in the resulting strains. Overall, we found that the obtained deletions affect numerous genes involved in various biological pathways. Specifically, genes involved in the oxidative reduction process, stress-response genes, housekeeping genes, and genes participating in olfactory and reproduction are among the most strongly affected. Furthermore, characteristic differences in the response to the deletions of the studied genes are apparently organ-specific and have clear-cut sex-specific characteristics. Single and double deletions of the three genes responsible for the production of H2S helped to elucidate new aspects of the biological significance of this vital physiological mediator.
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30
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Lin SJH, Cohen LB, Wasserman SA. Effector specificity and function in Drosophila innate immunity: Getting AMPed and dropping Boms. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008480. [PMID: 32463841 PMCID: PMC7255597 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. H. Lin
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Lianne B. Cohen
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
| | - Steven A. Wasserman
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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31
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Valanne S, Järvelä-Stölting M, Harjula SKE, Myllymäki H, Salminen TS, Rämet M. Osa-Containing Brahma Complex Regulates Innate Immunity and the Expression of Metabolic Genes in Drosophila. THE JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY 2020; 204:2143-2155. [PMID: 32198143 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Negative regulation of innate immunity is essential to avoid autoinflammation. In Drosophila melanogaster, NF-κB signaling-mediated immune responses are negatively regulated at multiple levels. Using a Drosophila RNA interference in vitro screen, we identified a set of genes inhibiting immune activation. Four of these genes encode members of the chromatin remodeling Osa-containing Brahma (BAP) complex. Silencing additional two genes of the BAP complex was shown to have the same phenotype, confirming its role in immune regulation in vitro. In vivo, the knockdown of osa and brahma was shown to enhance the expression of the Toll pathway-mediated antimicrobial peptides when the flies were challenged with Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus In this setting, osa knockdown had a particularly strong effect on immune effectors that are predominantly activated by the Imd pathway. Accordingly, Drosophila NF-κB Relish expression was increased by osa silencing. These transcriptional changes were associated with enhanced survival from M. luteus + E. faecalis infection. Besides regulating the expression of immune effector genes, osa RNA interference decreased the expression of a large group of genes involved in metabolism, particularly proteolysis. Of note, the expression of the recently characterized, immune-inducible gene Induced by Infection (IBIN) was diminished in osa knockdown flies. Although IBIN has been shown to modulate metabolism upon infection, the expression of selected Osa-regulated metabolism genes was not rescued by overexpressing IBIN. We conclude that the BAP complex regulates expression of genes involved in metabolism at least partially independent or downstream of IBIN Moreover, Osa affects the NF-κB-mediated immune response by regulating Drosophila NF-κB factor Relish expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Valanne
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Mirva Järvelä-Stölting
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Sanna-Kaisa E Harjula
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Henna Myllymäki
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Tiina S Salminen
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.,Laboratory of Mito-Immuno-Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Mika Rämet
- Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere University, Tampere, Finland; .,PEDEGO Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, 90014 University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Medical Research Center Oulu, 90014 University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; and.,Department of Children and Adolescents, Oulu University Hospital, 90014 University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
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32
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The Genetic Basis of Natural Variation in Drosophila melanogaster Immune Defense against Enterococcus faecalis. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11020234. [PMID: 32098395 PMCID: PMC7074548 DOI: 10.3390/genes11020234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Dissecting the genetic basis of natural variation in disease response in hosts provides insights into the coevolutionary dynamics of host-pathogen interactions. Here, a genome-wide association study of Drosophila melanogaster survival after infection with the Gram-positive entomopathogenic bacterium Enterococcus faecalis is reported. There was considerable variation in defense against E. faecalis infection among inbred lines of the Drosophila Genetics Reference Panel. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with six genes with a significant (p < 10-08, corresponding to a false discovery rate of 2.4%) association with survival, none of which were canonical immune genes. To validate the role of these genes in immune defense, their expression was knocked-down using RNAi and survival of infected hosts was followed, which confirmed a role for the genes krishah and S6k in immune defense. We further identified a putative role for the Bomanin gene BomBc1 (also known as IM23), in E. faecalis infection response. This study adds to the growing set of association studies for infection in Drosophila melanogaster and suggests that the genetic causes of variation in immune defense differ for different pathogens.
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Cohen LB, Lindsay SA, Xu Y, Lin SJH, Wasserman SA. The Daisho Peptides Mediate Drosophila Defense Against a Subset of Filamentous Fungi. Front Immunol 2020; 11:9. [PMID: 32038657 PMCID: PMC6989431 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Fungal infections, widespread throughout the world, affect a broad range of life forms, including agriculturally relevant plants, humans, and insects. In defending against fungal infections, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster employs the Toll pathway to induce a large number of immune peptides. Some have been investigated, such as the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and Bomanins (Boms); many, however, remain uncharacterized. Here, we examine the role in innate immunity of two related peptides, Daisho1 and Daisho2 (formerly IM4 and IM14, respectively), found in hemolymph following Toll pathway activation. By generating a CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of both genes, Δdaisho, we find that the Daisho peptides are required for defense against a subset of filamentous fungi, including Fusarium oxysporum, but not other Toll-inducible pathogens, such as Enterococcus faecalis and Candida glabrata. Analysis of null alleles and transgenes revealed that the two daisho genes are each required for defense, although their functions partially overlap. Generating and assaying a genomic epitope-tagged Daisho2 construct, we detected interaction in vitro of Daisho2 peptide in hemolymph with the hyphae of F. oxysporum. Together, these results identify the Daisho peptides as a new class of innate immune effectors with humoral activity against a select set of filamentous fungi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianne B Cohen
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Scott A Lindsay
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Yangyang Xu
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Samuel J H Lin
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
| | - Steven A Wasserman
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States
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Lin SJH, Fulzele A, Cohen LB, Bennett EJ, Wasserman SA. Bombardier Enables Delivery of Short-Form Bomanins in the Drosophila Toll Response. Front Immunol 2020; 10:3040. [PMID: 31998316 PMCID: PMC6965162 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.03040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Toll mediates a robust and effective innate immune response across vertebrates and invertebrates. In Drosophila melanogaster, activation of Toll by systemic infection drives the accumulation of a rich repertoire of immune effectors in hemolymph, including the recently characterized Bomanins, as well as the classical antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Here we report the functional characterization of a Toll-induced hemolymph protein encoded by the bombardier (CG18067) gene. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate a precise deletion of the bombardier transcriptional unit, we found that Bombardier is required for Toll-mediated defense against fungi and Gram-positive bacteria. Assaying cell-free hemolymph, we found that the Bomanin-dependent candidacidal activity is also dependent on Bombardier, but is independent of the antifungal AMPs Drosomycin and Metchnikowin. Using mass spectrometry, we demonstrated that deletion of bombardier results in the specific absence of short-form Bomanins from hemolymph. In addition, flies lacking Bombardier exhibited a defect in pathogen tolerance that we trace to an aberrant condition triggered by Toll activation. These results lead us to a model in which the presence of Bombardier in wild-type flies enables the proper folding, secretion, or intermolecular associations of short-form Bomanins, and the absence of Bombardier disrupts one or more of these steps, resulting in defects in both immune resistance and tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J H Lin
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Amit Fulzele
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Lianne B Cohen
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Eric J Bennett
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Steven A Wasserman
- Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
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Hanson MA, Lemaitre B, Unckless RL. Dynamic Evolution of Antimicrobial Peptides Underscores Trade-Offs Between Immunity and Ecological Fitness. Front Immunol 2019; 10:2620. [PMID: 31781114 PMCID: PMC6857651 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a developing interest in how immune genes may function in other physiological roles, and how traditionally non-immune peptides may, in fact, be active in immune contexts. In the absence of infection, the induction of the immune response is costly, and there are well-characterized trade-offs between immune defense and fitness. The agents behind these fitness costs are less understood. Here we implicate antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) as particularly costly effectors of immunity using an evolutionary framework. We describe the independent loss of AMPs in multiple lineages of Diptera (true flies), tying these observations back to life history. We then focus on the intriguing case of the glycine-rich AMP, Diptericin, and find several instances of loss, pseudogenization, and segregating null alleles. We suggest that Diptericin may be a particularly toxic component of the Dipteran immune response lost in flies either with reduced pathogen pressure or other environmental factors. As Diptericins have recently been described to have neurological roles, these findings parallel a developing interest in AMPs as potentially harmful neuropeptides, and AMPs in other roles beyond immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Hanson
- School of Life Science, Global Health Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bruno Lemaitre
- School of Life Science, Global Health Institute, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Robert L Unckless
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States
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Herwald H, Egesten A. Tackling the Pros and Cons of Inflammation. J Innate Immun 2019; 11:445-446. [PMID: 31473747 DOI: 10.1159/000502353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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West C, Rus F, Chen Y, Kleino A, Gangloff M, Gammon DB, Silverman N. IIV-6 Inhibits NF-κB Responses in Drosophila. Viruses 2019; 11:v11050409. [PMID: 31052481 PMCID: PMC6563256 DOI: 10.3390/v11050409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The host immune response and virus-encoded immune evasion proteins pose constant, mutual selective pressure on each other. Virally encoded immune evasion proteins also indicate which host pathways must be inhibited to allow for viral replication. Here, we show that IIV-6 is capable of inhibiting the two Drosophila NF-κB signaling pathways, Imd and Toll. Antimicrobial peptide (AMP) gene induction downstream of either pathway is suppressed when cells infected with IIV-6 are also stimulated with Toll or Imd ligands. We find that cleavage of both Imd and Relish, as well as Relish nuclear translocation, three key points in Imd signal transduction, occur in IIV-6 infected cells, indicating that the mechanism of viral inhibition is farther downstream, at the level of Relish promoter binding or transcriptional activation. Additionally, flies co-infected with both IIV-6 and the Gram-negative bacterium, Erwinia carotovora carotovora, succumb to infection more rapidly than flies singly infected with either the virus or the bacterium. These findings demonstrate how pre-existing infections can have a dramatic and negative effect on secondary infections, and establish a Drosophila model to study confection susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara West
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | - Florentina Rus
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | - Ying Chen
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | - Anni Kleino
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | - Monique Gangloff
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
| | - Don B Gammon
- Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX T5390, USA.
| | - Neal Silverman
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
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Hanson MA, Dostálová A, Ceroni C, Poidevin M, Kondo S, Lemaitre B. Synergy and remarkable specificity of antimicrobial peptides in vivo using a systematic knockout approach. eLife 2019; 8:e44341. [PMID: 30803481 PMCID: PMC6398976 DOI: 10.7554/elife.44341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are host-encoded antibiotics that combat invading microorganisms. These short, cationic peptides have been implicated in many biological processes, primarily involving innate immunity. In vitro studies have shown AMPs kill bacteria and fungi at physiological concentrations, but little validation has been done in vivo. We utilized CRISPR gene editing to delete all known immune-inducible AMPs of Drosophila, namely: 4 Attacins, 4 Cecropins, 2 Diptericins, Drosocin, Drosomycin, Metchnikowin and Defensin. Using individual and multiple knockouts, including flies lacking all 14 AMP genes, we characterize the in vivo function of individual and groups of AMPs against diverse bacterial and fungal pathogens. We found that Drosophila AMPs act primarily against Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, contributing either additively or synergistically. We also describe remarkable specificity wherein certain AMPs contribute the bulk of microbicidal activity against specific pathogens, providing functional demonstrations of highly specific AMP-pathogen interactions in an in vivo setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Austin Hanson
- Global Health Institute, School of Life ScienceÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Anna Dostálová
- Global Health Institute, School of Life ScienceÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Camilla Ceroni
- Global Health Institute, School of Life ScienceÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)LausanneSwitzerland
| | - Mickael Poidevin
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC)Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris SudGif-sur-YvetteFrance
| | - Shu Kondo
- Invertebrate Genetics Laboratory, Genetic Strains Research CenterNational Institute of GeneticsMishimaJapan
| | - Bruno Lemaitre
- Global Health Institute, School of Life ScienceÉcole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)LausanneSwitzerland
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