The cytokine MIF controls daily rhythms of symbiont nutrition in an animal-bacterial association.

ABSTRACT: The recent recognition that many symbioses exhibit daily rhythms has encouraged research into the partner dialogue that drives these biological oscillations. Here we characterized the pivotal role of the versatile cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in regulating a metabolic rhythm in the model light-organ symbiosis between Euprymna scolopes and Vibrio fischeri As the juvenile host matures, it develops complex daily rhythms characterized by profound changes in the association, from gene expression to behavior. One such rhythm is a diurnal shift in symbiont metabolism triggered by the periodic provision of a specific nutrient by the mature host: each night the symbionts catabolize chitin released from hemocytes (phagocytic immune cells) that traffic into the

SUBMITTER: Koch EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7959500 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature