Infection of C. elegans by Haptoglossa species reveals shared features in the host response to oomycete detection
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Oomycetes are a group of eukaryotic organisms that includes many important pathogens of animals and plants. Within this group, the Haptoglossa genus is characterised by the presence of specialised gun cells carrying a harpoon-like infection apparatus. While several Haptoglossa pathogens have been morphologically described, there are currently no host systems developed to study the infection process or host responses in the lab. In this study, we report that Haptoglossa species are potent natural pathogens of Caenorhabditis nematodes. Using electron microscopy, we characterise the infection process in C. elegans and demonstrate that the oomycete causes excessive tissue degradation upon entry in the body cavity, whilst leaving the host cuticle intact. We also report that the host transcriptional response to Haptoglossa infection shares similarities with the response against the oomycete Myzocytiopsis humicola, a key example of which is the induction of chitinase-like (chil) genes in the hypodermis. We demonstrate that this shared feature of the host response can be mounted by pathogen detection without any infection, as previously shown for M. humicola. These results highlight similarities in the nematode immune response to natural infection by phylogenetically distinct oomycetes.
Date Issued
2021-10-14
Date Acceptance
2021-09-22
Citation
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 2021, 11
ISSN
2235-2988
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
Volume
11
Copyright Statement
© 2021 Grover, Fasseas, Essmann, Liu, Braendle, Félix, Glockling and Barkoulas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
License URL
Sponsor
Wellcome Trust
Grant Number
219448/Z/19/Z
Subjects
CLPs
chitinase-like
gun cells
haptoglossa
innate immunity
oomycete
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
0605 Microbiology
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 733094