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Werner MS, Loschko T, King T, Reich S, Theska T, Franz-Wachtel M, Macek B, Sommer RJ. Histone 4 lysine 5/12 acetylation enables developmental plasticity of Pristionchus mouth form. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2095. [PMID: 37055396 PMCID: PMC10102330 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37734-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Development can be altered to match phenotypes with the environment, and the genetic mechanisms that direct such alternative phenotypes are beginning to be elucidated. Yet, the rules that govern environmental sensitivity vs. invariant development, and potential epigenetic memory, remain unknown. Here, we show that plasticity of nematode mouth forms is determined by histone 4 lysine 5 and 12 acetylation (H4K5/12ac). Acetylation in early larval stages provides a permissive chromatin state, which is susceptible to induction during the critical window of environmental sensitivity. As development proceeds deacetylation shuts off switch gene expression to end the critical period. Inhibiting deacetylase enzymes leads to fixation of prior developmental trajectories, demonstrating that histone modifications in juveniles can carry environmental information to adults. Finally, we provide evidence that this regulation was derived from an ancient mechanism of licensing developmental speed. Altogether, our results show that H4K5/12ac enables epigenetic regulation of developmental plasticity that can be stored and erased by acetylation and deacetylation, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Werner
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Tobias Loschko
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Thomas King
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Shelley Reich
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Tobias Theska
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | | | - Boris Macek
- Proteome Center Tübingen, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Ralf J Sommer
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany.
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2
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Lenuzzi M, Witte H, Riebesell M, Rödelsperger C, Hong RL, Sommer RJ. Influence of environmental temperature on mouth-form plasticity in Pristionchus pacificus acts through daf-11-dependent cGMP signaling. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2023; 340:214-224. [PMID: 34379868 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Mouth-form plasticity in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus has become a powerful system to identify the genetic and molecular mechanisms associated with developmental (phenotypic) plasticity. In particular, the identification of developmental switch genes that can sense environmental stimuli and reprogram developmental processes has confirmed long-standing evolutionary theory. However, how these genes are involved in the direct sensing of the environment, or if the switch genes act downstream of another, primary environmental sensing mechanism, remains currently unknown. Here, we study the influence of environmental temperature on mouth-form plasticity. We find that environmental temperature does influence mouth-form plasticity in most of the 10 wild isolates of P. pacificus tested in this study. We used one of these strains, P. pacificus RSA635, for detailed molecular analysis. Using forward and reverse genetic technology including CRISPR/Cas9, we show that mutations in the guanylyl cyclase Ppa-daf-11, the Ppa-daf-25/AnkMy2, and the cyclic nucleotide-gated channel Ppa-tax-2 eliminate the response to elevated temperatures. Together, our study indicates that DAF-11, DAF-25, and TAX-2 have been co-opted for environmental sensing during mouth-form plasticity regulation in P. pacificus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maša Lenuzzi
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hanh Witte
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Metta Riebesell
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christian Rödelsperger
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ray L Hong
- Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, California, USA
| | - Ralf J Sommer
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany
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3
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Renahan T, Sommer RJ. Multidimensional competition of nematodes affects plastic traits in a beetle ecosystem. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:985831. [PMID: 36092706 PMCID: PMC9449363 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.985831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Resource competition has driven the evolution of novel polyphenisms in numerous organisms, enhancing fitness in constantly changing environmental conditions. In natural communities, the myriad interactions among diverse species are difficult to disentangle, but the multidimensional microscopic environment of a decaying insect teeming with bacteria and fighting nematodes provides pliable systems to investigate. Necromenic nematodes of the family Diplogastridae live on beetles worldwide, innocuously waiting for their hosts’ deaths to feast on the blooming bacteria. Often, more than one worm species either affiliates with the insect or joins the microbial meal; thus, competition over limited food ensues, and phenotypic plasticity provides perks for species capable of employing polyphenisms. The recently established system of cockchafer Gymnogaster bupthalma and its occasional co-infestation of Pristionchus mayeri and Acrostichus spp. has revealed that these worms will simultaneously utilize two polyphenisms to thrive in a competitive environment. While both genera maintain plastic capacities in mouth form (strictly bacterial-feeding and omnivorous predation) and developmental pathway (direct and arrested development, dauer), P. mayeri employs both when faced with competition from Acrostichus. Here, we took advantage of the malleable system and added a third competitor, model nematode Pristionchus pacificus. Intriguingly, with a third competitor, P. mayeri is quicker to exit dauer and devour available food, while Acrostichus hides in dauer, waiting for the two Pristionchus species to leave the immediate environment before resuming development. Thus, experimental manipulation of short-lived ecosystems can be used to study the roles of polyphenisms in organismal interactions and their potential significance for evolution.
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4
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Renahan T, Sommer RJ. Nematode Interactions on Beetle Hosts Indicate a Role of Mouth-Form Plasticity in Resource Competition. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.752695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Competition is rampant across kingdoms, arising over potential mates, food resources, and space availability. When faced with opponents, phenotypic plasticity proffers organisms indispensable advantageous strategies to outcompete rivals. This tactic is especially crucial on decaying insect hosts as myriad microbes and numerous nematodes struggle to establish thriving populations and ensure resource availability for future generations. Scarab beetles and their associated nematode symbionts on La Réunion Island have provided exceptional systems to study complicated cross-phylum interactions in soil, and recently we have identified a previously unexplored beetle host, Gymnogaster bupthalma, to be reliably co-infested with diplogastrids Pristionchus mayeri and Acrostichus spp. These nematodes maintain the capacity to plastically respond to environmental conditions by developing disparate mouth forms, a strict bacterial-feeding morph or an omnivorous morph that enables predation on other nematodes. In addition, under stressful settings these worms can enter an arrested development stage called dauer, non-feeding dispersal larvae that resume development into reproducing adults when conditions improve. By investigating this beetle-nematode system in a natural context, we uncovered a novel Pristionchus strategy, wherein dauer dispersal from the carcass is gradual and a reproducing population is sustained. Remarkably, usually preferential-bacterial morph P. mayeri develop as predators in populations dense with competitors.
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5
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Renahan T, Lo WS, Werner MS, Rochat J, Herrmann M, Sommer RJ. Nematode biphasic 'boom and bust' dynamics are dependent on host bacterial load while linking dauer and mouth-form polyphenisms. Environ Microbiol 2021; 23:5102-5113. [PMID: 33587771 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Cross-kingdom interactions involve dynamic processes that shape terrestrial ecosystems and represent striking examples of co-evolution. The multifaceted relationships of entomopathogenic nematodes with their insect hosts and symbiotic bacteria are well-studied cases of co-evolution and pathogenicity. In contrast, microbial interactions in soil after the natural death of insects and other invertebrates are minimally understood. In particular, the turnover and succession of nematodes and bacteria during insect decay have not been well documented - although it represents a rich ecological niche with multiple species interactions. Here, we utilize developmentally plastic nematode Pristionchus pacificus and its associated scarab beetles as models. On La Réunion Island, we collected rhinoceros beetle Oryctes borbonicus, induced death, and placed carcasses in cages both on the island and in a mock-natural environment in the laboratory controlling for high spatial and temporal resolution. Investigating nematode population density and dispersal dynamics, we were able to connect two imperative plasticities, dauer and mouth form. We observed a biphasic 'boom and bust' dispersal dynamic of dauer larvae that corresponds to bacterial load on carcasses but not bacterial type. Strikingly, all post-dauer adults have the predatory mouth form, demonstrating novel intricate interactions on decaying insect hosts. Thus, ecologically relevant survival strategies incorporate critical plastic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess Renahan
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck Ring 9, Tübingen, 720976, Germany
| | - Wen-Sui Lo
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck Ring 9, Tübingen, 720976, Germany
| | - Michael S Werner
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck Ring 9, Tübingen, 720976, Germany.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA
| | - Jacques Rochat
- Micropoda, 2 Rue De l'é'toile du Berger, Residence le Jardin des Épices, La Possession, La Réunion, 97419, France
| | - Matthias Herrmann
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck Ring 9, Tübingen, 720976, Germany
| | - Ralf J Sommer
- Department for Integrative Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Max-Planck Ring 9, Tübingen, 720976, Germany
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6
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Curtis BJ, Kim LJ, Wrobel CJJ, Eagan JM, Smith RA, Burch JE, Le HH, Artyukhin AB, Nelson HM, Schroeder FC. Identification of Uric Acid Gluconucleoside-Ascaroside Conjugates in Caenorhabditis elegans by Combining Synthesis and MicroED. Org Lett 2020; 22:6724-6728. [PMID: 32820938 PMCID: PMC7526323 DOI: 10.1021/acs.orglett.0c02038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Few nucleoside-derived natural products have been identified from animals, despite the ubiquity of nucleosides in living organisms. Here, we use a combination of synthesis and the emerging electron microscopy technique microcrystal electron diffraction to determine the structures of several N3-(β-glucopyranosyl)uric acid derivatives in Caenorhabditis elegans. These noncanonical gluconucleosides further integrate an ascaroside moiety, for which we present a shortened synthetic route. The production of a phosphorylated gluconucleoside is influenced by evolutionarily conserved insulin signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian J Curtis
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Lee Joon Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Chester J J Wrobel
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - James M Eagan
- Ascribe Bioscience, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Rubin A Smith
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Jessica E Burch
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Henry H Le
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Alexander B Artyukhin
- Chemistry Department, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, New York 13210, United States
| | - Hosea M Nelson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Frank C Schroeder
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
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7
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Panda O, Akagi AE, Artyukhin AB, Judkins JC, Le HH, Mahanti P, Cohen SM, Sternberg PW, Schroeder FC. Biosynthesis of Modular Ascarosides in
C. elegans. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201700103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Oishika Panda
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Allison E. Akagi
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
| | - Alexander B. Artyukhin
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Joshua C. Judkins
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Henry H. Le
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Parag Mahanti
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
| | - Sarah M. Cohen
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
| | - Paul W. Sternberg
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA
| | - Frank C. Schroeder
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Cornell University Ithaca NY USA
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8
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Panda O, Akagi AE, Artyukhin AB, Judkins JC, Le HH, Mahanti P, Cohen SM, Sternberg PW, Schroeder FC. Biosynthesis of Modular Ascarosides in C. elegans. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2017; 56:4729-4733. [PMID: 28371259 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201700103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Revised: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses simple building blocks from primary metabolism and a strategy of modular assembly to build a great diversity of signaling molecules, the ascarosides, which function as a chemical language in this model organism. In the ascarosides, the dideoxysugar ascarylose serves as a scaffold to which diverse moieties from lipid, amino acid, neurotransmitter, and nucleoside metabolism are attached. However, the mechanisms that underlie the highly specific assembly of ascarosides are not understood. We show that the acyl-CoA synthetase ACS-7, which localizes to lysosome-related organelles, is specifically required for the attachment of different building blocks to the 4'-position of ascr#9. We further show that mutants lacking lysosome-related organelles are defective in the production of all 4'-modified ascarosides, thus identifying the waste disposal system of the cell as a hotspot for ascaroside biosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oishika Panda
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Allison E Akagi
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Alexander B Artyukhin
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Joshua C Judkins
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Henry H Le
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Parag Mahanti
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Sarah M Cohen
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Paul W Sternberg
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Frank C Schroeder
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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