Non-canonical pattern recognition of a pathogen-derived metabolite by a nuclear hormone receptor identifies virulent bacteria in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Distinguishing infectious pathogens from harmless microorganisms is essential for animal health. The mechanisms used to identify infectious microbes are not fully understood, particularly in metazoan hosts that eat bacteria as their food source. Here, we characterized a non-canonical pattern-recognition system in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) that assesses the relative threat of virulent Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) to activate innate immunity. We discovered that the innate immune response in C. elegans was triggered by phenazine-1-carboxamide (PCN), a toxic metabolite produced by pathogenic strains of P. aeruginosa. We identified the nuclear hormone receptor NHR-86/HNF4 as the PCN sensor in C. elegans and validated that PCN bound to the ligand-binding domain of NHR-86/HNF4

SUBMITTER: Peterson ND 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10101930 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature