Dataset Information

Oxidative stress and the presence of bacteria increase gene expression of the antimicrobial peptide aclasin, a fungal CS?? defensin in Aspergillus clavatus.

ABSTRACT: Background:Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a broad class of naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds. Plants, invertebrates and fungi produce various AMPs as, for example, defensins. Most of these defensins are characterised by the presence of a cysteine-stabilised ?-helical and ?-sheet (CS??) motif. The changes in gene expression of a fungal CS?? defensin by stress conditions were investigated in Aspergillus clavatus. A. clavatus produces the CS?? defensin Aclasin, which is encoded by the aclasin gene. Methods:Aclasin expression was evaluated in submerged mycelium cultures under heat shock, osmotic stress, oxidative stress and the presence of bacteria by quantitative real-time PCR. Results:Aclasin expression increased two fold under oxidative stress conditions and in the presence of viable and heat-killed Bacillus megaterium. Under heat shock and osmotic stress, aclasin expression decreased. Discussion:The results suggest that oxidative stress and the presence of bacteria might regulate fungal defensin expression. Moreover, fungi might recognise microorganisms as plants and animals do.

SUBMITTER: Contreras G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6394349 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Oxidative stress and the presence of bacteria increase gene expression of the antimicrobial peptide <i>aclasin</i>, a fungal CSαβ defensin in <i>Aspergillus clavatus</i>.

Contreras Gabriela G Wang Nessa N Schäfer Holger H Wink Michael M

PeerJ 20190225

<h4>Background</h4>Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a broad class of naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds. Plants, invertebrates and fungi produce various AMPs as, for example, defensins. Most of these defensins are characterised by the presence of a cysteine-stabilised α-helical and β-sheet (CSαβ) motif. The changes in gene expression of a fungal CSαβ defensin by stress conditions were investigated in <i>Aspergillus clavatus</i>. <i>A. clavatus</i> produces the CSαβ defensin Aclas ...[more]

PMID: 30828484

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Project description:Characterization of the human microbiota is providing new insightsinto the complexity of host–parasite–bacterium relationships. Amoebiasis (an intestinal infection affecting a large proportion of the population in many countries worldwide) is caused by the amoebic parasite Entamoeba histolytica. During amoebiasis, the parasite encounters several types of stress as a result of the host’s response to infection. Given that E. histolytica phagocytises bacteria in the intestinal lumen, we hypothesized that enteric bacteria can influence the course of an amoebic infection. Hence, we used live Escherichia coli O55 as a pertinent model of the bacterial community’s contribution to amoebic responses during host- induced stress. By measuring amoebic survival, we found that live E. coli protected E. histolytica against oxidative stress (OS) but not against nitrosative stress. E. coli– associated protection is correlated with massive transcriptionalchanges in amoebic genes acquired through lateral transfer from the bacterial kingdom, including genes coding for proteinscontaining leucine-rich repeat (LRR) motifs. The transcriptome profile triggered by OS and E. coli was also observed with other enteric bacteria, including pathogens and non-pathogens. In contrast, exposure to a probiotic resulted in a different transcriptome profile. The present study shows that OS and live bacteria together modulate 84 of E. histolytica’s 137 LRR protein genes. The LRR proteins are involvedin protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions – especially in proteins that interact with bacteria as part of the innate immune response in mammals and plants, such as Toll-like receptors. The structural and functional homology of LRRs and TLRs identified here suggest that despite its old age in evolutionary terms, the protozoan E. histolytica displays key characteristics of higher eukaryotes’ innate immune systems. We conclude that components of innate immunity existed in the common ancestor of plants and animals

Dataset Information

Oxidative stress and the presence of bacteria increase gene expression of the antimicrobial peptide aclasin, a fungal CS?? defensin in Aspergillus clavatus.

Publications

Oxidative stress and the presence of bacteria increase gene expression of the antimicrobial peptide <i>aclasin</i>, a fungal CSαβ defensin in <i>Aspergillus clavatus</i>.

Similar Datasets

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