The dual nature of haemocyanin in the establishment and persistence of the squid-vibrio symbiosis

Pioneer colonizers: Bacteria that alter the chicken intestinal morphology and development of the microbiota

Microbes commonly administered to chickens facilitate development of a beneficial microbiome that improves gut function, feed conversion and reduces pathogen colonization. Competitive exclusion products, derived from the cecal contents of hens and shown to reduce Salmonella colonization in chicks, possess important pioneer-colonizing bacteria needed for proper intestinal development and animal growth. We hypothesized that inoculation of these pioneer-colonizing bacteria to day of hatch chicks would enhance the development of their intestinal anatomy and microbiome. A competitive exclusion product was administered to broiler chickens, in their drinking water, at day of hatch, and its impact on intestinal morphometrics, intestinal microbiome, and production parameters, was assessed relative to a control, no treatment group. 16S rRNA gene, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) was used to assess ileal community composition. The competitive exclusion product, administered on day of hatch, increased villus height, villus height/width ratio and goblet cell production ∼1.25-fold and expression of enterocyte sugar transporters 1.25 to 1.5-fold in chickens at 3 days of age, compared to the control group. As a next step, chicks were inoculated with a defined formulation, containing Bacteroidia and Clostridia representing pioneer-colonizing bacteria of the two major bacterial phyla present in the competitive exclusion product. The defined formulation, containing both groups of bacteria, were shown, dependent on age, to improve villus height (jejunum: 1.14 to 1.46-fold; ileum: 1.17-fold), goblet cell numbers (ileum 1.32 to 2.51-fold), and feed efficiency (1.18-fold, day 1) while decreasing Lactobacillus ileal abundance by one-third to half in birds at 16 and 42 days of age, respectively; compared to the phosphate buffered saline treatment group. Therefore, specific probiotic formulations containing pioneer colonizing species can provide benefits in intestinal development, feed efficiency and body weight gain.

Nocturnal Acidification: A Coordinating Cue in the Euprymna scolopes-Vibrio fischeri Symbiosis

The Vibrio fischeri–Euprymna scolopes symbiosis has become a powerful model for the study of specificity, initiation, and maintenance between beneficial bacteria and their eukaryotic partner. In this invertebrate model system, the bacterial symbionts are acquired every generation from the surrounding seawater by newly hatched squid. These symbionts colonize a specialized internal structure called the light organ, which they inhabit for the remainder of the host’s lifetime. The V. fischeri population grows and ebbs following a diel cycle, with high cell densities at night producing bioluminescence that helps the host avoid predation during its nocturnal activities. Rhythmic timing of the growth of the symbionts and their production of bioluminescence only at night is critical for maintaining the symbiosis. V. fischeri symbionts detect their population densities through a behavior termed quorum-sensing, where they secrete and detect concentrations of autoinducer molecules at high cell density when nocturnal production of bioluminescence begins. In this review, we discuss events that lead up to the nocturnal acidification of the light organ and the cues used for pre-adaptive behaviors that both host and symbiont have evolved. This host–bacterium cross talk is used to coordinate networks of regulatory signals (such as quorum-sensing and bioluminescence) that eventually provide a unique yet stable environment for V. fischeri to thrive and be maintained throughout its life history as a successful partner in this dynamic symbiosis.

Antimicrobial Peptides-or How Our Ancestors Learned to Control the Microbiome

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short and generally positively charged peptides found in a wide variety of life forms from microorganisms to humans. Their wide range of activity against pathogens, including Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and enveloped viruses makes them a fundamental component of innate immunity. Marra et al. (A. Marra, M. A. Hanson, S. Kondo, B. Erkosar, B. Lemaitre, mBio 12:e0082421, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00824-21) use the analytical potential of Drosophila to show that AMPs and lysozymes play a direct role in controlling the composition and abundance of the beneficial gut microbiome. By comparing mutant and wild-type flies, they demonstrated that the specific loss of AMPs and lysozyme production results in changes in microbiome abundance and composition. Furthermore, they established that AMPs and lysozyme are particularly essential in aging flies. Studies of early emerging metazoans, other invertebrates, and humans support the view of an ancestral function of AMPs in controlling microbial colonization.

Getting the Message Out: the Many Modes of Host-Symbiont Communication during Early-Stage Establishment of the Squid-Vibrio Partnership

Symbiosis, by its basic nature, depends on partner interactions that are mediated by cues and signals. This kind of critical reciprocal communication shapes the trajectory of host-microbe associations from their onset through their maturation and is typically mediated by both biochemical and biomechanical influences. Symbiotic partnerships often involve communities composed of dozens to hundreds of microbial species, for which resolving the precise nature of these partner interactions is highly challenging. Naturally occurring binary associations, such as those between certain legumes, nematodes, fishes, and squids, and their specific bacterial partner species offer the opportunity to examine interactions with high resolution and at the scale at which the interactions occur. The goals of this review are to provide the conceptual framework for evolutionarily conserved drivers of host-symbiont communication in animal associations and to offer a window into some mechanisms of this phenomenon as discovered through the study of the squid-vibrio model. The discussion focuses upon the early events that lead to persistence of the symbiotic partnership. The biophysical and biochemical determinants of the initial hours of dialogue between partners and how the symbiosis is shaped by the environment that is created by their reciprocal interactions are key topics that have been difficult to approach in more complex systems. Through our research on the squid-vibrio system, we provide insight into the intricate temporal and spatial complexity that underlies the molecular and cellular events mediating successful microbial colonization of the host animal.

Development of the Accessory Nidamental Gland and Associated Bacterial Community in the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid, Euprymna scolopes

AbstractThe Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, has a female reproductive organ called the accessory nidamental gland that contains a symbiotic bacterial consortium. These bacteria are deposited from the accessory nidamental gland into the squid's egg cases, where the consortium prevents microbial fouling. The symbiont community is environmentally transmitted and conserved across host populations, yet little is known about how the organ develops and is colonized by bacteria. In order to understand accessory nidamental gland development in E. scolopes, we characterized the gland during maturation by using histology and confocal and transmission electron microscopy. We found that an epithelial field formed first about four weeks after hatching, followed by the proliferation of numerous pores during what we hypothesize to be the initiation of bacterial recruitment (early development). Microscopy revealed that these pores were connected to ciliated invaginations that occasionally contained bacteria. During mid development, these epithelial fields expanded, and separate colonized tubules were observed below the epithelial layer that contained the pores and invaginations. During late development, the superficial epithelial fields appeared to regress as animals approached sexual maturity and were never observed in fully mature adults (about 2-3 months post-hatching), suggesting that they help facilitate bacterial colonization of the accessory nidamental gland. An analysis of 16S rRNA gene diversity in accessory nidamental glands from females of varying size showed that the bacterial community changed as the host approached sexual maturity, increasing in community evenness and shifting from a Verrucomicrobia-dominated to an Alphaproteobacteria-dominated consortium. Given the host's relationship with the well-characterized light organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri, our work suggests that the accessory nidamental gland of E. scolopes may have similar mechanisms to recruit bacteria from the environment. Understanding the developmental and colonization processes of the accessory nidamental gland will expand the use of E. scolopes as a model organism for studying bacterial consortia in marine symbioses.

Animal development in the microbial world: The power of experimental model systems

The development of powerful model systems has been a critical strategy for understanding the mechanisms underlying the progression of an animal through its ontogeny. Here we provide two examples that allow deep and mechanistic insight into the development of specific animal systems. Species of the cnidarian genus Hydra have provided excellent models for studying host-microbe interactions and how metaorganisms function in vivo. Studies of the Hawaiian bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes and its luminous bacterial partner Vibrio fischeri have been used for over 30 years to understand the impact of a broad array of levels, from ecology to genomics, on the development and persistence of symbiosis. These examples provide an integrated perspective of how developmental processes work and evolve within the context of a microbial world, a new view that opens vast horizons for developmental biology research. The Hydra and the squid systems also lend an example of how profound insights can be discovered by taking advantage of the "experiments" that evolution had done in shaping conserved developmental processes.

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

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 light-organ crypts, where the population of V. fischeri cells resides. Nocturnal migration of these macrophage-like cells, together with identification of an E. scolopes MIF (EsMIF) in the light-organ transcriptome, led us to ask whether EsMIF might be the gatekeeper controlling the periodic movement of the hemocytes. Western blots, ELISAs, and confocal immunocytochemistry showed EsMIF was at highest abundance in the light organ. Its concentration there was lowest at night, when hemocytes entered the crypts. EsMIF inhibited migration of isolated hemocytes, whereas exported bacterial products, including peptidoglycan derivatives and secreted chitin catabolites, induced migration. These results provide evidence that the nocturnal decrease in EsMIF concentration permits the hemocytes to be drawn into the crypts, delivering chitin. This nutritional function for a cytokine offers the basis for the diurnal rhythms underlying a dynamic symbiotic conversation.

Compartmentalization drives the evolution of symbiotic cooperation

Across the tree of life, hosts have evolved mechanisms to control and mediate interactions with symbiotic partners. We suggest that the evolution of physical structures that allow hosts to spatially separate symbionts, termed compartmentalization, is a common mechanism used by hosts. Such compartmentalization allows hosts to: (i) isolate symbionts and control their reproduction; (ii) reward cooperative symbionts and punish or stop interactions with non-cooperative symbionts; and (iii) reduce direct conflict among different symbionts strains in a single host. Compartmentalization has allowed hosts to increase the benefits that they obtain from symbiotic partners across a diversity of interactions, including legumes and rhizobia, plants and fungi, squid and Vibrio, insects and nutrient provisioning bacteria, plants and insects, and the human microbiome. In cases where compartmentalization has not evolved, we ask why not. We argue that when partners interact in a competitive hierarchy, or when hosts engage in partnerships which are less costly, compartmentalization is less likely to evolve. We conclude that compartmentalization is key to understanding the evolution of symbiotic cooperation. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of the microbiome in host evolution'.

OctoPartenopin: Identification and Preliminary Characterization of a Novel Antimicrobial Peptide from the Suckers of Octopus vulgaris

Microorganism resistance to conventional antibiotics represents one of the major global health concerns. This paper focuses on a peptide (OctoPartenopin) extracted from suckers of Octopus vulgaris; bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation was used to identify this sequence, which holds significant antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. OctoPartenopin is encrypted within the calponin sequence and was associated with the high levels of proteolytic activity already reported in octopus arm suckers. We synthesized the parent peptide and four analogues; all peptide were tested for their antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. Preliminary antibiofilm experiments showed that that one of the analogues had the best activity in both inhibition and eradication of biofilm of all three microorganisms tested. The occurrence of OctoPartenopin in arm suckers provided novel speculative information on animal behavior, as concerns maternal care of fertilized eggs. Our results highlight that suckers are a rich source of multifaceted peptides to develop alternative antimicrobial agents and food preservatives.

Adaptation to pH stress by Vibrio fischeri can affect its symbiosis with the Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes)

Many microorganisms engaged in host-microbe interactions pendulate between a free-living phase and a host-affiliated stage. How adaptation to stress during the free-living phase affects host-microbe associations is unclear and understudied. To explore this topic, the symbiosis between Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) and the luminous bacterium Vibrio fischeri was leveraged for a microbial experimental evolution study. V. fischeri experienced adaptation to extreme pH while apart from the squid host. V. fischeri was serially passaged for 2000 generations to the lower and upper pH growth limits for this microorganism, which were pH 6.0 and 10.0, respectively. V. fischeri was also serially passaged for 2000 generations to vacillating pH 6.0 and 10.0. Evolution to pH stress both facilitated and impaired symbiosis. Microbial evolution to acid stress promoted squid colonization and increased bioluminescence for V. fischeri, while symbiont adaptation to alkaline stress diminished these two traits. Oscillatory selection to acid and alkaline stress also improved symbiosis for V. fischeri, but the facilitating effects were less than that provided by microbial adaptation to acid stress. In summary, microbial adaptation to harsh environments amid the free-living phase may impact the evolution of host-microbe interactions in ways that were not formerly considered.

Ambient pH Alters the Protein Content of Outer Membrane Vesicles, Driving Host Development in a Beneficial Symbiosis

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are continuously produced by Gram-negative bacteria and are increasingly recognized as ubiquitous mediators of bacterial physiology. In particular, OMVs are powerful effectors in interorganismal interactions, driven largely by their molecular contents. These impacts have been studied extensively in bacterial pathogenesis but have not been well documented within the context of mutualism. Here, we examined the proteomic composition of OMVs from the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri, which forms a specific mutualism with the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes We found that V. fischeri upregulates transcription of its major outer membrane protein, OmpU, during growth at an acidic pH, which V. fischeri experiences when it transitions from its environmental reservoir to host tissues. We used comparative genomics and DNA pulldown analyses to search for regulators of ompU and found that differential expression of ompU is governed by the OmpR, H-NS, and ToxR proteins. This transcriptional control combines with nutritional conditions to govern OmpU levels in OMVs. Under a host-encountered acidic pH, V. fischeri OMVs become more potent stimulators of symbiotic host development in an OmpU-dependent manner. Finally, we found that symbiotic development could be stimulated by OMVs containing a homolog of OmpU from the pathogenic species Vibrio cholerae, connecting the role of a well-described virulence factor with a mutualistic element. This work explores the symbiotic effects of OMV variation, identifies regulatory machinery shared between pathogenic and mutualistic bacteria, and provides evidence of the role that OMVs play in animal-bacterium mutualism.IMPORTANCE Beneficial bacteria communicate with their hosts through a variety of means. These communications are often carried out by a combination of molecules that stimulate responses from the host and are necessary for development of the relationship between these organisms. Naturally produced bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) contain many of those molecules and can stimulate a wide range of responses from recipient organisms. Here, we describe how a marine bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, changes the makeup of its OMVs under conditions that it experiences as it goes from its free-living lifestyle to associating with its natural host, the Hawaiian bobtail squid. This work improves our understanding of how bacteria change their signaling profile as they begin to associate with their beneficial partner animals.

Acidic pH promotes lipopolysaccharide modification and alters colonization in a bacteria-animal mutualism

Environmental pH can be an important cue for symbiotic bacteria as they colonize their eukaryotic hosts. Using the model mutualism between the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the Hawaiian bobtail squid, we characterized the bacterial transcriptional response to acidic pH experienced during the shift from planktonic to host-associated lifestyles. We found several genes involved in outer membrane structure were differentially expressed based on pH, indicating alterations in membrane physiology as V. fischeri initiates its symbiotic program. Exposure to host-like pH increased the resistance of V. fischeri to the cationic antimicrobial peptide polymixin B, which resembles antibacterial molecules that are produced by the squid to select V. fischeri from the ocean microbiota. Using a forward genetic screen, we identified a homolog of eptA, a predicted phosphoethanolamine transferase, as critical for antimicrobial defense. We used MALDI-MS to verify eptA as an ethanolamine transferase for the lipid-A portion of V. fischeri lipopolysaccharide. We then used a DNA pulldown approach to discover that eptA transcription is activated by the global regulator H-NS. Finally, we revealed that eptA promotes successful squid colonization by V. fischeri, supporting its potential role in initiation of this highly specific symbiosis.

Sulfur availability for Vibrio fischeri growth during symbiosis establishment depends on biogeography within the squid light organ

The fitness of host-associated microbes depends on their ability to access nutrients in vivo. Identifying these mechanisms is significant for understanding how microbes have evolved to fill specific ecological niches within a host. Vibrio fischeri is a bioluminescent bacterium that colonizes and proliferates within the light organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid, which provides an opportunity to study how bacteria grow in vivo. Here, the transcription factor CysB is shown to be necessary for V. fischeri both to grow on several sulfur sources in vitro and to establish symbiosis with juvenile squid. CysB is also found to regulate several genes involved in sulfate assimilation and to contribute to the growth of V. fischeri on cystine, which is the oxidized form of cysteine. A mutant that grows on cystine but not sulfate could establish symbiosis, suggesting that V. fischeri acquires nutrients related to this compound within the host. Finally, CysB-regulated genes are shown to be differentially expressed among the V. fischeri populations occupying the various colonization sites found within the light organ. Together, these results suggest the biogeography of V. fischeri populations within the squid light organ impacts the physiology of this symbiotic bacterium in vivo through CysB-dependent gene regulation.

Discovery of Novel Hemocyanin-Like Genes in Metazoans

Among animals, two major groups of oxygen-binding proteins are found: proteins that use iron to bind oxygen (hemoglobins and hemerythrins) and two non-homologous hemocyanins that use copper. Although arthropod and mollusc hemocyanins bind oxygen in the same manner, they are distinct in their molecular structures. In order to better understand the range of natural variation in hemocyanins, we searched for them in a diverse array of metazoan transcriptomes by using bioinformatics tools to examine hemocyanin evolutionary history and to consequently revive the discussion about whether all metazoan hemocyanins shared a common origin with frequent losses or whether they originated separately after the divergence of Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa. We confirm that the distribution of hemocyanin-like genes is more widespread than previously reported, including five putative novel mollusc hemocyanin genes in two annelid species from Chaetopteridae. For arthropod hemocyanins, 16 putative novel genes were retained, and the presence of arthropod hemocyanins in 11 annelid species represents a novel observation. Interestingly, Annelida is the lineage that presents the greatest repertoire of oxygen transport proteins reported to date, possessing all the main superfamily proteins, which could be explained partially by the immense variability of lifestyles and habitats. Work presented here contradicts the canonical view that hemocyanins are restricted to molluscs and arthropods, suggesting that the occurrence of copper-based blood pigments in metazoans has been underestimated. Our results also support the idea of the presence of oxygen carrier hemocyanins being widespread across metazoans with an evolutionary history characterized by frequent losses.

Persistent Interactions with Bacterial Symbionts Direct Mature-Host Cell Morphology and Gene Expression in the Squid-Vibrio Symbiosis

In horizontally transmitted symbioses, structural, biochemical, and molecular features both facilitate host colonization by specific symbionts and mediate their persistent carriage. In the association between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its luminous bacterial partner Vibrio fischeri, the symbionts interact with two epithelial fields; they interact (i) transiently with the superficial ciliated field that potentiates colonization and regresses within days of colonization and (ii) persistently with the cells that line the internal crypts, whose ultrastructure changes in response to the symbionts. Development of the association creates conditions that promote the symbiotic partner over the lifetime of the host. To determine whether light organ maturation requires continuous interactions with V. fischeri or only the signaling that occurs during its initiation, we compared 4-week-old squid that were uncolonized with those colonized either persistently by wild-type V. fischeri or transiently by a V. fischeri mutant that triggers early events in morphogenesis but does not persist. Microscopic analysis of the light organs showed that, while morphogenesis of the superficial ciliated field is greatly accelerated by V. fischeri colonization, its eventual outcome is largely independent of colonization state. In contrast, the symbiont-induced changes in crypt cell shape require persistent host-symbiont interaction, reflected in the similarity between uncolonized and transiently colonized animals. Transcriptomic analyses reflected the microscopy results; host gene expression at 4 weeks was due primarily to the persistent interactions of host and symbiont cells. Further, the transcriptomic signature of specific pathways reflected the daily rhythm of symbiont release and regrowth and required the presence of the symbionts. IMPORTANCE A long-term relationship between symbiotic partners is often characterized by development and maturation of host structures that harbor the symbiont cells over the host's lifetime. To understand the mechanisms involved in symbiosis maintenance more fully, we studied the mature bobtail squid, whose light-emitting organ, under experimental conditions, can be transiently or persistently colonized by Vibrio fischeri or remain uncolonized. Superficial anatomical changes in the organ were largely independent of symbiosis. However, both the microanatomy of cells with which symbionts interact and the patterns of gene expression in the mature animal were due principally to the persistent interactions of host and symbiont cells rather than to a response to early colonization events. Further, the characteristic pronounced daily rhythm on the host transcriptome required persistent V. fischeri colonization of the organ. This experimental study provides a window into how persistent symbiotic colonization influences the form and function of host animal tissues.

Healthy hosts rule within: ecological forces shaping the gut microbiota

A balanced gut microbiota is important for human health, but the mechanisms that maintain homeostasis are incompletely understood. Recent insights suggest the host plays a key role in shaping its gut microbiota to be beneficial. While host control in the small intestine curbs bacterial numbers to avoid competition for simple sugars and amino acids, the host limits oxygen availability in the large intestine to obtain microbial fermentation products from fiber. Epithelial cells are major players in imposing ecological control mechanisms, which involves the release of antimicrobial peptides by small-intestinal Paneth cells and maintenance of luminal anaerobiosis by epithelial hypoxia in the colon. Harnessing these epithelial control mechanisms for therapeutic means could provide a novel lynchpin for strategies to remediate dysbiosis.

Vascular architecture in the bacteriogenic light organ of Euprymna tasmanica (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae)

Symbiosis between southern dumpling squid, Euprymna tasmanica (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae), and its luminescent symbiont, the bacterium Vibrio fischeri, provides an experimentally tractable system to examine interactions between the eukaryotic host and its bacterial partner. Luminescence emitted by the symbiotic bacteria provides light for the squid in a behavior termed "counter-illumination," which allows the squid to mask its shadow amidst downwelling moonlight. Although this association is beneficial, light generated from the bacteria requires large quantities of oxygen to maintain this energy-consuming reaction. Therefore, we examined the vascular network within the light organ of juveniles of E. tasmanica with and without V. fischeri. Vessel type, diameter, and location of vessels were measured. Although differences between symbiotic and aposymbiotic squid demonstrated that the presence of V. fischeri does not significantly influence the extent of vascular branching at early stages of symbiotic development, these finding do provide an atlas of blood vessel distribution in the organ. Thus, these results provide a framework to understand how beneficial bacteria influence the development of a eukaryotic closed vascular network and provide insight to the evolutionary developmental dynamics that form during mutualistic interactions.

Transcriptomic changes in an animal-bacterial symbiosis under modeled microgravity conditions

Spaceflight imposes numerous adaptive challenges for terrestrial life. The reduction in gravity, or microgravity, represents a novel environment that can disrupt homeostasis of many physiological processes. Additionally, it is becoming increasingly clear that an organism’s microbiome is critical for host health and examining its resiliency in microgravity represents a new frontier for space biology research. In this study, we examine the impact of microgravity on the interactions between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its beneficial symbiont Vibrio fischeri, which form a highly specific binary mutualism. First, animals inoculated with V. fischeri aboard the space shuttle showed effective colonization of the host light organ, the site of the symbiosis, during space flight. Second, RNA-Seq analysis of squid exposed to modeled microgravity conditions exhibited extensive differential gene expression in the presence and absence of the symbiotic partner. Transcriptomic analyses revealed in the absence of the symbiont during modeled microgravity there was an enrichment of genes and pathways associated with the innate immune and oxidative stress response. The results suggest that V. fischeri may help modulate the host stress responses under modeled microgravity. This study provides a window into the adaptive responses that the host animal and its symbiont use during modeled microgravity.

Bactericidal Permeability-Increasing Proteins Shape Host-Microbe Interactions

We characterized bactericidal permeability-increasing proteins (BPIs) of the squid Euprymna scolopes, EsBPI2 and EsBPI4. They have molecular characteristics typical of other animal BPIs, are closely related to one another, and nest phylogenetically among invertebrate BPIs. Purified EsBPIs had antimicrobial activity against the squid's symbiont, Vibrio fischeri, which colonizes light organ crypt epithelia. Activity of both proteins was abrogated by heat treatment and coincubation with specific antibodies. Pretreatment under acidic conditions similar to those during symbiosis initiation rendered V. fischeri more resistant to the antimicrobial activity of the proteins. Immunocytochemistry localized EsBPIs to the symbiotic organ and other epithelial surfaces interacting with ambient seawater. The proteins differed in intracellular distribution. Further, whereas EsBPI4 was restricted to epithelia, EsBPI2 also occurred in blood and in a transient juvenile organ that mediates hatching. The data provide evidence that these BPIs play different defensive roles early in the life of E. scolopes, modulating interactions with the symbiont.IMPORTANCE This study describes new functions for bactericidal permeability-increasing proteins (BPIs), members of the lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP)/BPI protein family. The data provide evidence that these proteins play a dual role in the modulation of symbiotic bacteria. In the squid-vibrio model, these proteins both control the symbiont populations in the light organ tissues where symbiont cells occur in dense monoculture and, concomitantly, inhibit the symbiont from colonizing other epithelial surfaces of the animal.

The Role of Hemocytes in the Hawaiian Bobtail Squid, Euprymna scolopes: A Model Organism for Studying Beneficial Host-Microbe Interactions

Most, if not all, animals engage in associations with bacterial symbionts. Understanding the mechanisms by which host immune systems and beneficial bacteria communicate is a fundamental question in the fields of immunology and symbiosis. The Hawaiian bobtail squid (Euprymna scolopes) engages in two known symbioses; a binary relationship with the light organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri, and a bacterial consortium within a specialized organ of the female reproductive system, the accessory nidamental gland (ANG). E. scolopes has a well-developed circulatory system that allows immune cells (hemocytes) to migrate into tissues, including the light organ and ANG. In the association with V. fischeri, hemocytes are thought to have a number of roles in the management of symbiosis, including the recognition of non-symbiotic bacteria and the contribution of chitin as a nutrient source for V. fischeri. Hemocytes are hypothesized to recognize bacteria through interactions between pattern recognition receptors and microbe-associated molecular patterns. Colonization by V. fischeri has been shown to affect the bacteria-binding behavior, gene expression, and proteome of hemocytes, indicating that the symbiont can modulate host immune function. In the ANG, hemocytes have also been observed interacting with the residing bacterial community. As a model host, E. scolopes offers a unique opportunity to study how the innate immune system interacts with both a binary and consortial symbiosis. This mini review will recapitulate what is known about the role of hemocytes in the light organ association and offer future directions for understanding how these immune cells interact with multiple types of symbioses.

Stress as a Normal Cue in the Symbiotic Environment

All multicellular hosts form associations with groups of microorganisms. These microbial communities can be taxonomically diverse and dynamic, and their persistence is due to robust, and sometimes coevolved, host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. Chemical and physical sources of stress are prominently situated in this molecular exchange, as cues for cellular responses in symbiotic microbes. Stress in the symbiotic environment may arise from three sources: host tissues, microbe-induced immune responses, or other microbes in the host environment. The responses of microbes to these stresses can be general or highly specialized, and collectively may contribute to the stability of the symbiotic system. In this review, we highlight recent work that emphasizes the role of stress as a cue in the symbiotic environment of plants and animals.

A conserved chemical dialog of mutualism: lessons from squid and vibrio

Microorganisms shape, and are shaped by, their environment. In host-microbe associations, this environment is defined by tissue chemistry, which reflects local and organism-wide physiology, as well as inflammatory status. We review how, in the squid-vibrio mutualism, both partners shape tissue chemistry, revealing common themes governing tissue homeostasis in animal-microbe associations.

Copper homeostasis at the host vibrio interface: lessons from intracellular vibrio transcriptomics

Recent studies revealed that several vibrio species have evolved the capacity to survive inside host cells. However, it is still often ignored if intracellular stages are required for pathogenicity. Virulence of Vibrio tasmaniensis LGP32, a strain pathogenic for Crassostrea gigas oysters, depends on entry into hemocytes, the oyster immune cells. We investigated here the mechanisms of LGP32 intracellular survival and their consequences on the host-pathogen interaction. Entry and survival inside hemocytes were required for LGP32-driven cytolysis of hemocytes, both in vivo and in vitro. LGP32 intracellular stages showed a profound boost in metabolic activity and a major transcription of antioxidant and copper detoxification genes, as revealed by RNA sequencing. LGP32 isogenic mutants showed that resistance to oxidative stress and copper efflux are two main functions required for vibrio intracellular stages and cytotoxicity to hemocytes. Copper efflux was also essential for host colonization and virulence in vivo. Altogether, our results identify copper resistance as a major mechanism to resist killing by phagocytes, induce cytolysis of immune cells and colonize oysters. Selection of such resistance traits could arise from vibrio interactions with copper-rich environmental niches including marine invertebrates, which favour the emergence of pathogenic vibrios resistant to intraphagosomal killing across animal species.

The immune response of cephalopods from head to foot

Cephalopods are a diverse group of marine molluscs that have proven their worth in a vast array of ways, ranging from their importance within ecological settings and increasing commercial value, to their recent use as model organisms in biological research. However, despite their acknowledged importance, our understanding of basic cephalopod biology does not equate their ecological, societal, and scientific significance. Among these undeveloped research areas, cephalopod immunology stands out because it encompasses a wide variety of scientific fields including many within the biological and chemical sciences, and because of its potential biomedical and commercial relevance. This review aims to address the current knowledge on the topic of cephalopod immunity, focusing on components and functions already established as part of the animals' internal defense mechanisms, as well as identifying gaps that would benefit from future research. More specifically, the present review details both cellular and humoral defenses, and organizes them into sensor, signaling, and effector components. Molluscan, and particularly cephalopod immunology has lagged behind many other areas of study, but thanks to the efforts of many dedicated researchers and the assistance of modern technology, this gap is steadily decreasing. A better understanding of cephalopod immunity will have a positive impact on the health and survival of one of the most intriguing and unique animal groups on the planet, and will certainly influence many other areas of human interest such as ecology, evolution, physiology, symbiosis, and aquaculture.

Evolutionary signals of symbiotic persistence in the legume-rhizobia mutualism

Understanding the origins and evolutionary trajectories of symbiotic partnerships remains a major challenge. Why are some symbioses lost over evolutionary time whereas others become crucial for survival? Here, we use a quantitative trait reconstruction method to characterize different evolutionary stages in the ancient symbiosis between legumes (Fabaceae) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, asking how labile is symbiosis across different host clades. We find that more than half of the 1,195 extant nodulating legumes analyzed have a high likelihood (>95%) of being in a state of high symbiotic persistence, meaning that they show a continued capacity to form the symbiosis over evolutionary time, even though the partnership has remained facultative and is not obligate. To explore patterns associated with the likelihood of loss and retention of the N2-fixing symbiosis, we tested for correlations between symbiotic persistence and legume distribution, climate, soil and trait data. We found a strong latitudinal effect and demonstrated that low mean annual temperatures are associated with high symbiotic persistence in legumes. Although no significant correlations between soil variables and symbiotic persistence were found, nitrogen and phosphorus leaf contents were positively correlated with legumes in a state of high symbiotic persistence. This pattern suggests that highly demanding nutrient lifestyles are associated with more stable partnerships, potentially because they "lock" the hosts into symbiotic dependency. Quantitative reconstruction methods are emerging as a powerful comparative tool to study broad patterns of symbiont loss and retention across diverse partnerships.

A Single Host-Derived Glycan Impacts Key Regulatory Nodes of Symbiont Metabolism in a Coevolved Mutualism

Most animal-microbe mutualistic associations are characterized by nutrient exchange between the partners. When the host provides the nutrients, it can gain the capacity to shape its microbial community, control the stability of the interaction, and promote its health and fitness. Using the bioluminescent squid-vibrio model, we demonstrate how a single host-derived glycan, chitin, regulates the metabolism of Vibrio fischeri at key points in the development and maintenance of the symbiosis. We first characterized the pathways for catabolism of chitin sugars by V. fischeri, demonstrating that the Ccr-dependent phosphoenolpyruvate-pyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) prioritizes transport of these sugars in V. fischeri by blocking the uptake of non-PTS carbohydrates, such as glycerol. Next, we found that PTS transport of chitin sugars into the bacterium shifted acetate homeostasis toward a net excretion of acetate and was sufficient to override an activation of the acetate switch by AinS-dependent quorum sensing. Finally, we showed that catabolism of chitin sugars decreases the rate of cell-specific oxygen consumption. Collectively, these three metabolic functions define a physiological shift that favors fermentative growth on chitin sugars and may support optimal symbiont luminescence, the functional basis of the squid-vibrio mutualism.

Host-derived glycans have recently emerged as a link between symbiont nutrition and innate immune function. Unfortunately, the locations at which microbes typically access host-derived glycans are inaccessible to experimentation and imaging, and they take place in the context of diverse microbe-microbe interactions, creating a complex symbiotic ecology. Here we describe the metabolic state of a single microbial symbiont in a natural association with its coevolved host and, by doing so, infer key points at which a host-controlled tissue environment might regulate the physiological state of its symbionts. We show that the presence of a regulatory glycan is sufficient to shift symbiont carbohydrate catabolism, acetate homeostasis, and oxygen consumption.

The chemistry of negotiation: rhythmic, glycan-driven acidification in a symbiotic conversation

Glycans have emerged as critical determinants of immune maturation, microbial nutrition, and host health in diverse symbioses. In this study, we asked how cyclic delivery of a single host-derived glycan contributes to the dynamic stability of the mutualism between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its specific, bioluminescent symbiont, Vibrio fischeri. V. fischeri colonizes the crypts of a host organ that is used for behavioral light production. E. scolopes synthesizes the polymeric glycan chitin in macrophage-like immune cells called hemocytes. We show here that, just before dusk, hemocytes migrate from the vasculature into the symbiotic crypts, where they lyse and release particulate chitin, a behavior that is established only in the mature symbiosis. Diel transcriptional rhythms in both partners further indicate that the chitin is provided and metabolized only at night. A V. fischeri mutant defective in chitin catabolism was able to maintain a normal symbiont population level, but only until the symbiotic organ reached maturity (∼ 4 wk after colonization); this result provided a direct link between chitin utilization and symbiont persistence. Finally, catabolism of chitin by the symbionts was also specifically required for a periodic acidification of the adult crypts each night. This acidification, which increases the level of oxygen available to the symbionts, enhances their capacity to produce bioluminescence at night. We propose that other animal hosts may similarly regulate the activities of epithelium-associated microbial communities through the strategic provision of specific nutrients, whose catabolism modulates conditions like pH or anoxia in their symbionts' habitat.

Global discovery of colonization determinants in the squid symbiont Vibrio fischeri

Animal epithelial tissue becomes reproducibly colonized by specific environmental bacteria. The bacteria (microbiota) perform critical functions for the host's tissue development, immune system development, and nutrition; yet the processes by which bacterial diversity in the environment is selected to assemble the correct communities in the host are unclear. To understand the molecular determinants of microbiota selection, we examined colonization of a simplified model in which the light organ of Euprymna scolopes squid is colonized exclusively by Vibrio fischeri bacteria. We applied high-throughput insertion sequencing to identify which bacterial genes are required during host colonization. A library of over 41,000 unique transposon insertions was analyzed before and after colonization of 1,500 squid hatchlings. Mutants that were reproducibly depleted following squid colonization represented 380 genes, including 37 that encode known colonization factors. Validation of select mutants in defined competitions against the wild-type strain identified nine mutants that exhibited a reproducible colonization defect. Some of the colonization factors identified included genes predicted to influence copper regulation and secretion. Other mutants exhibited defects in biofilm development, which is required for aggregation in host mucus and initiation of colonization. Biofilm formation in culture and in vivo was abolished in a strain lacking the cytoplasmic chaperone DnaJ, suggesting an important role for protein quality control during the elaboration of bacterial biofilm in the context of an intact host immune system. Overall these data suggest that cellular stress responses and biofilm regulation are critical processes underlying the reproducible colonization of animal hosts by specific microbial symbionts.

The oxidative environment: a mediator of interspecies communication that drives symbiosis evolution

Symbiotic interactions are ubiquitous in nature and play a major role in driving the evolution of life. Interactions between partners are often mediated by shared signalling pathways, which strongly influence both partners' biology and the evolution of the association in various environments. As an example of 'common language', the regulation of the oxidative environment plays an important role in driving the evolution of symbiotic associations. Such processes have been occurring for billions of years, including the increase in Earth's atmospheric oxygen and the subsequent evolution of mitochondria. The effect of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species (RONS) has been characterized functionally, but the molecular dialogue between partners has not been integrated within a broader evolutionary context yet. Given the pleiotropic role of RONS in cell-cell communication, development and immunity, but also their associated physiological costs, we discuss here how their regulation can influence the establishment, the maintenance and the breakdown of various symbiotic associations. By synthesizing recent developments in redox biology, we aim to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of the influence of such mediators of interspecies communication on the evolution and stability of symbioses, which in turn can shape ecosystems and play a role in health and disease.