Project description:Biological Relevance and Intent: Cryptic species within the Aspergillus section Fumigati, such as the Aspergillus viridinutans species complex, are increasingly recognized as important opportunistic pathogens in both human and veterinary medicine. These species often exhibit an intrinsic reduction in susceptibility to standard azole antifungals. The intent of this experiment was to determine how the tolerant veterinary isolate Aspergillus felis CCF5624 responds to acute azole stress (tolerance is transient state, not genetically determined like mutations). This study aimed to map the active cellular survival pathways and identify regulatory networks that could be targeted to bypass this protective tolerance machinery. Experimental Workflow Overview: Conidia suspensions of Aspergillus felis CCF5624 were inoculated onto pure RPMI medium covered with sterile cellophane and cultivated for 40 hours at 37 °C to establish vegetative colonies. To capture the immediate transcriptomic shifts associated with drug tolerance, the grown biomass was transferred directly to new RPMI plates supplemented with either a control solvent (DMSO) [abbreviated as \"A\"] or one of three clinical azole compounds (itraconazole, voriconazole, or posaconazole) [abbreviated as B, C,D, respectively] at concentrations corresponding to EUCAST resistance breakpoints. Following an acute 4-hour exposure, fungal biomass was harvested and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Total RNA was isolated using a combined TRI reagent and spin-column methodology. High-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed by Novogene Limited UK. Poly-A enriched mRNA libraries were prepared and sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq X Plus platform using a 150 bp paired-end (PE150) strategy, yielding a minimum sequencing depth of 3 Gb (approximately 10 million paired-end reads) per individual sample. Reference gemone Aspergillus pseudoviridinutans IFM_55266 https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genomes/all/GCF/018/340/605/GCF_018340605.1_Asppvi_assembly01/GCF_018340605.1_Asppvi_assembly01_genomic.fna.gz https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genomes/all/GCF/018/340/605/GCF_018340605.1_Asppvi_assembly01/GCF_018340605.1_Asppvi_assembly01_genomic.gtf.gz
Project description:The mammalian immune system is constantly challenged by signals from both pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes. Many of these non-pathogenic microbes have pathogenic potential if the immune system is compromised. The importance of type I interferons (IFNs) in orchestrating innate immune responses to pathogenic microbes has become clear in recent years. However, the control of opportunistic pathogens – and especially intracellular bacteria – by type I IFNs remains less appreciated. In this study, we use the opportunistic, Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia (Bc) to show that type I IFNs are capable of limiting bacterial replication in macrophages, preventing illness in immunocompetent mice. Sustained type I IFN signaling through cytosolic receptors allows for increased expression of autophagy and linear ubiquitination mediators, which slows bacterial replication. Transcriptomic analyses and in vivo studies also show that LPS stimulation does not replicate the conditions of intracellular Gram-negative bacterial infection as it pertains to type I IFN stimulation or signaling. This study highlights the importance of type I IFNs in protection against opportunistic pathogens through innate immunity, without the need for damaging inflammatory responses.