Commensal Bacteria Regulate Gene Expression and Differentiation in Vertebrate Olfactory Systems Through Transcription Factor REST.

ABSTRACT: Sensory systems such as the olfactory system detect chemical stimuli and thereby determine the relationships between the animal and its surroundings. Olfaction is one of the most conserved and ancient sensory systems in vertebrates. The vertebrate olfactory epithelium is colonized by complex microbial communities, but microbial contribution to host olfactory gene expression remains unknown. In this study, we show that colonization of germ-free zebrafish and mice with microbiota leads to widespread transcriptional responses in olfactory organs as measured in bulk tissue transcriptomics and RT-qPCR. Germ-free zebrafish olfactory epithelium showed defects in pseudostratification; however, the size of the olfactory pit and the length of the cilia were not different from that of colonized zebra

SUBMITTER: Casadei E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6796929 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature