Host immune suppression as a key adaptation enabling bacterial symbioses

宿主免疫抑制是实现细菌共生的关键适应

• 批准号: 2152954
• 负责人: Benjamin Parker
• 金额: $ 65.79万
• 依托单位: University of Tennessee Knoxville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-05-15 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2152954&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Host; immune; suppression; key; adaptation

Bacterial symbionts are widespread among animals and plants and often provide beneficial functions that profoundly influence their hosts' biology. Insects, in particular, have repeatedly formed symbioses with microbes for metabolism, nutrition, and protection. Insect immune systems are tasked with the challenge of controlling and regulating beneficial microbes while combating often closely-related pathogenic microbes. A critical unanswered question is whether the insect immune system is a key mediator of both symbionts and pathogens across different host species. This project will combine cutting edge genomics with experimental manipulations that will link immune responses with symbiont associations across diverse host species. Gaining a mechanistic understanding of how immune systems interact with symbionts is not only critical for understanding the evolution of host-associated microbiomes, it also has relevance to the invertebrate pests that vector devastating diseases of crops, livestock, and humans. In addition, there are research opportunities available for undergraduate students to train the next generation of STEM researchers.This project will use aphids as a model system and involves research at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and the Queen Mary University of London. Aphids are uniquely suited for this work because they have strong non-random associations with microbial symbionts: a symbiont species may be common in one aphid species, yet rarely found in a close relative. This suggests a dynamic interplay between host and microbe that can drive symbiont spread or loss over relatively short evolutionary timescales. Preliminary data has shown that hosting certain symbionts leads to a sharp decrease in the expression of key immune genes in aphids. This suggests host immunity is of central importance to the evolution of symbiotic relationships. The primary objective of this project is to use transcriptome sequencing and immune assays to test the hypothesis that host immune suppression is a key mechanism explaining the distribution of symbiotic microbes across aphid species. A secondary objective is to determine whether there is a trade-off in the ability to harbor symbionts and resist pathogens across species. Genomes of virulent and non-virulent symbiont strains will also be compared using a novel symbiont culturing technology to identify genetic features that underlie pathogenicity in symbiotic microbes. Together, this cross-species approach will transform our understanding of how host immunity moderates relationships with symbiotic microbes. This project will thus provide key insight into how invertebrates form and maintain relationships with microbes that can drive rapid adaptive evolution in species of central importance to food security and health. This collaborative US/UK project is supported by the US National Science Foundation and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

细菌共生体在动物和植物中普遍存在，并且经常提供有益的功能，从而深刻影响其宿主的生物学。尤其是昆虫，与微生物反复形成了共生，用于代谢，营养和保护。昆虫免疫系统的任务是控制和调节有益微生物的挑战，同时打击通常密切相关的致病微生物。一个关键的未解决的问题是，昆虫免疫系统是否是不同宿主物种的共生体和病原体的关键介体。该项目将将最先进的基因组学与实验操作相结合，将免疫反应与各种宿主物种之间的共生体关联起来。获得对免疫系统如何与共生体相互作用的机械理解不仅对于理解与宿主相关的微生物组的演变至关重要，而且还与无脊椎动物的害虫相关，这些无脊椎动物害虫却使农作物，牲畜和人类的毁灭性疾病进行了毁灭性疾病。此外，本科生还有一些研究机会培训下一代STEM研究人员。该项目将使用蚜虫作为模型系统，并涉及田纳西大学诺克斯维尔大学和伦敦皇后大学的研究。蚜虫非常适合这项工作，因为它们与微生物共生体具有很强的非随机关联：共生物种在一种蚜虫物种中可能很常见，但在亲戚中很少发现。这表明宿主和微生物之间的动态相互作用可以在相对较短的进化时间尺度上驱动共生体扩散或损失。初步数据表明，托管某些共生体会导致蚜虫中关键免疫基因的表达急剧下降。这表明宿主免疫对于共生关系的演变至关重要。该项目的主要目的是使用转录组测序和免疫测定来检验以下假设：宿主免疫抑制是解释共生微生物在蚜虫物种中的分布的关键机制。次要目标是确定是否可以权衡携带共生体和抵抗病原体的能力。还将使用一种新型的共生培养技术比较毒和非毒性共生菌株的基因组，以鉴定共生微生物中致病性构成的遗传特征。这种跨物种方法共同改变了我们对宿主免疫如何适应共生微生物的关系的理解。因此，该项目将提供有关如何形成无脊椎动物和与微生物的关系的关键见解，这些物种可以推动对粮食安全和健康的核心物种的快速自适应演变。 美国国家科学基金会和英国生物技术和生物科学研究委员会的支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛影响的评估审查标准的评估来支持的。

项目成果

Why do viruses make aphids winged?

• DOI: 10.1111/imb.12860
• 发表时间: 2023-05
• 期刊: Insect Molecular Biology
• 影响因子: 2.6
• 作者: Paula Rozo-Lopez;Benjamin J. Parker

Variation in density, immune gene suppression, and coinfection outcomes among strains of the aphid endosymbiont Regiella insecticola

• DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad071
• 发表时间: 2023-05-08
• 期刊: EVOLUTION
• 影响因子: 3.3
• 作者: Goldstein, Elliott B.;de Anda Acosta, Yazmin;Parker, Benjamin J.
• 通讯作者: Parker, Benjamin J.