Protist-type lysozymes of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans contribute to resistance against pathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis.

ABSTRACT: Pathogens represent a universal threat to other living organisms. Most organisms express antimicrobial proteins and peptides, such as lysozymes, as a protection against these challenges. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans harbours 15 phylogenetically diverse lysozyme genes, belonging to two distinct types, the protist- or Entamoeba-type (lys genes) and the invertebrate-type (ilys genes) lysozymes. In the present study we characterized the role of several protist-type lysozyme genes in defence against a nematocidal strain of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Based on microarray and subsequent qRT-PCR gene expression analysis, we identified protist-type lysozyme genes as one of the differentially transcribed gene classes after infection. A functional genetic analysis was p

SUBMITTER: Boehnisch C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3169628 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature