The Invertebrate Lysozyme Effector ILYS-3 Is Systemically Activated in Response to Danger Signals and Confers Antimicrobial Protection in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Little is known about the relative contributions and importance of antibacterial effectors in the nematode C. elegans, despite extensive work on the innate immune responses in this organism. We report an investigation of the expression, function and regulation of the six ilys (invertebrate-type lysozyme) genes of C. elegans. These genes exhibited a surprising variety of tissue-specific expression patterns and responses to starvation or bacterial infection. The most strongly expressed, ilys-3, was investigated in detail. ILYS-3 protein was expressed constitutively in the pharynx and coelomocytes, and dynamically in the intestine. Analysis of mutants showed that ILYS-3 was required for pharyngeal grinding (disruption of bacterial cells) during normal growth and consequently it contributes to

SUBMITTER: Gravato-Nobre MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4985157 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature