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Parrella P, Elikan AB, Snow JW. Pathogen- and host-directed pharmacologic strategies for control of Vairimorpha (Nosema) spp. infection in honey bees. J Eukaryot Microbiol 2024:e13026. [PMID: 38572630 DOI: 10.1111/jeu.13026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites of the Fungal Kingdom that cause widespread infections in nature, with important effects on invertebrates involved in food production systems. The two microsporidian species Vairimorpha (Nosema) ceranae (and the less common Vairimorpha (Nosema) apis) can cause individual disease in honey bees and contribute to colony collapse. The efficacy, safety, and availability of fumagillin, the only drug currently approved to treat microsporidia infection in bees, is uncertain. In this review, we will discuss some of the most promising alternative strategies for the mitigation of Vairimorpha spp. with an emphasis on infection by V. ceranae, now the dominant species infecting bees. We will focus on pharmacologic interventions where the mechanism of action is known and examine both pathogen-directed and host-directed approaches. As limiting toxicity to host cells has been especially emphasized in treating bees that are already facing numerous stressors, strategies that disrupt pathogen-specific targets may be especially advantageous. Therefore, efforts to increase the knowledge and tools for facilitating the discovery of such targets and pharmacologic agents directed against them should be prioritized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parker Parrella
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, New York, New York, USA
| | | | - Jonathan W Snow
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, New York, New York, USA
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Lin D, Sutherland D, Aninta SI, Louie N, Nip KM, Li C, Yanai A, Coombe L, Warren RL, Helbing CC, Hoang LMN, Birol I. Mining Amphibian and Insect Transcriptomes for Antimicrobial Peptide Sequences with rAMPage. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022; 11:antibiotics11070952. [PMID: 35884206 PMCID: PMC9312091 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics11070952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis increasing in prevalence every day. To combat this crisis, alternative antimicrobial therapeutics are urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), a family of short defense proteins, are produced naturally by all organisms and hold great potential as effective alternatives to small molecule antibiotics. Here, we present rAMPage, a scalable bioinformatics discovery platform for identifying AMP sequences from RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) datasets. In our study, we demonstrate the utility and scalability of rAMPage, running it on 84 publicly available RNA-seq datasets from 75 amphibian and insect species—species known to have rich AMP repertoires. Across these datasets, we identified 1137 putative AMPs, 1024 of which were deemed novel by a homology search in cataloged AMPs in public databases. We selected 21 peptide sequences from this set for antimicrobial susceptibility testing against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and observed that seven of them have high antimicrobial activity. Our study illustrates how in silico methods such as rAMPage can enable the fast and efficient discovery of novel antimicrobial peptides as an effective first step in the strenuous process of antimicrobial drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Lin
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Darcy Sutherland
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, BC V6Z R4R, Canada;
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Sambina Islam Aninta
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Nathan Louie
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Ka Ming Nip
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Chenkai Li
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- Bioinformatics Graduate Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Anat Yanai
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Lauren Coombe
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - René L. Warren
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
| | - Caren C. Helbing
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 5C2, Canada;
| | - Linda M. N. Hoang
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, BC V6Z R4R, Canada;
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Inanc Birol
- Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4S6, Canada; (D.L.); (D.S.); (S.I.A.); (N.L.); (K.M.N.); (C.L.); (A.Y.); (L.C.); (R.L.W.)
- British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Public Health Laboratory, Vancouver, BC V6Z R4R, Canada;
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Correspondence:
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Snow JW. Nosema apis and N. ceranae Infection in Honey bees: A Model for Host-Pathogen Interactions in Insects. EXPERIENTIA SUPPLEMENTUM (2012) 2022; 114:153-177. [PMID: 35544003 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-93306-7_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There has been increased focus on the role of microbial attack as a potential cause of recent declines in the health of the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. The Nosema species, N. apis and N. ceranae, are microsporidian parasites that are pathogenic to honey bees, and infection by these species has been implicated as a key factor in honey bee losses. Honey bees infected with both Nosema spp. display significant changes in their biology at the cellular, tissue, and organismal levels impacting host metabolism, immune function, physiology, and behavior. Infected individuals lead to colony dysfunction and can contribute to colony disease in some circumstances. The means through which parasite growth and tissue pathology in the midgut lead to the dramatic physiological and behavioral changes at the organismal level are only partially understood. In addition, we possess only a limited appreciation of the elements of the host environment that impact pathogen growth and development. Critical for answering these questions is a mechanistic understanding of the host and pathogen machinery responsible for host-pathogen interactions. A number of approaches are already being used to elucidate these mechanisms, and promising new tools may allow for gain- and loss-of-function experiments to accelerate future progress.
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Huntsman EM, Cho RM, Kogan HV, McNamara-Bordewick NK, Tomko RJ, Snow JW. Proteasome Inhibition Is an Effective Treatment Strategy for Microsporidia Infection in Honey Bees. Biomolecules 2021; 11:1600. [PMID: 34827599 PMCID: PMC8615682 DOI: 10.3390/biom11111600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The microsporidia Nosema ceranae is an obligate intracellular parasite that causes honey bee mortality and contributes to colony collapse. Fumagillin is presently the only pharmacological control for N. ceranae infections in honey bees. Resistance is already emerging, and alternative controls are critically needed. Nosema spp. exhibit increased sensitivity to heat shock, a common proteotoxic stress. Thus, we hypothesized that targeting the Nosema proteasome, the major protease removing misfolded proteins, might be effective against N. ceranae infections in honey bees. Nosema genome analysis and molecular modeling revealed an unexpectedly compact proteasome apparently lacking multiple canonical subunits, but with highly conserved proteolytic active sites expected to be receptive to FDA-approved proteasome inhibitors. Indeed, N. ceranae were strikingly sensitive to pharmacological disruption of proteasome function at doses that were well tolerated by honey bees. Thus, proteasome inhibition is a novel candidate treatment strategy for microsporidia infection in honey bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily M. Huntsman
- Biology Department, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027, USA; (E.M.H.); (R.M.C.); (H.V.K.); (N.K.M.-B.)
| | - Rachel M. Cho
- Biology Department, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027, USA; (E.M.H.); (R.M.C.); (H.V.K.); (N.K.M.-B.)
| | - Helen V. Kogan
- Biology Department, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027, USA; (E.M.H.); (R.M.C.); (H.V.K.); (N.K.M.-B.)
| | | | - Robert J. Tomko
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA;
| | - Jonathan W. Snow
- Biology Department, Barnard College, New York, NY 10027, USA; (E.M.H.); (R.M.C.); (H.V.K.); (N.K.M.-B.)
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Nieland S, Barig S, Salzmann J, Gehrau F, Zamani AI, Richter A, Ibrahim J, Gräser Y, Ng CL, Stahmann K. Aspergillus fumigatus AR04 obeys Arrhenius' rule in cultivation temperature shifts from 30 to 40°C. Microb Biotechnol 2021; 14:1422-1432. [PMID: 33421319 PMCID: PMC8313250 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
To set a benchmark in fungal growth rate, a differential analysis of prototrophic Aspergillus fumigatus AR04 with three ascomycetes applied in > 103 t year-1 scale was performed, i.e. Ashbya gosspyii (riboflavin), Aspergillus niger (citric acid) and Aspergillus oryzae (food-processing). While radial colony growth decreased 0.5-fold when A. gossypii was cultivated at 40°C instead of 28°C, A. fumigatus AR04 responded with 1.7-fold faster hyphal growth. A. niger and A. oryzae formed colonies at 40°C, but not at 43°C. Moreover, all A. fumigatus strains tested grew even at 49°C. In chemostat experiments, A. fumigatus AR04 reached steady state at a dilution rate of 0.7 h-1 at 40°C, 120% more than reported for A. gossypii at 28°C. To study mycelial growth rates under unlimited conditions, carbon dioxide increase rates were calculated from concentrations detected online in the exhaust of batch fermentations for 3 h only. All rates calculated suggest that A. fumigatus AR04 approximates Arrhenius' rule when comparing short cultivations at 30°C with those at 40°C. Linearization of the exponential phase and comparison of the slopes revealed an increase to 192% by the 10°C up-shift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Nieland
- Institute of BiotechnologyBrandenburg University of Technology Cottbus ‐ SenftenbergUniversitätsplatz 1SenftenbergD‐01958Germany
| | - Susann Barig
- Institute of BiotechnologyBrandenburg University of Technology Cottbus ‐ SenftenbergUniversitätsplatz 1SenftenbergD‐01958Germany
| | - Julian Salzmann
- Institute of BiotechnologyBrandenburg University of Technology Cottbus ‐ SenftenbergUniversitätsplatz 1SenftenbergD‐01958Germany
| | - Frauke Gehrau
- Institute of BiotechnologyBrandenburg University of Technology Cottbus ‐ SenftenbergUniversitätsplatz 1SenftenbergD‐01958Germany
| | - Arief Izzairy Zamani
- Institute of Systems BiologyUniversiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaBangiSelangor43600 UKMMalaysia
| | - Annabell Richter
- Institute of BiotechnologyBrandenburg University of Technology Cottbus ‐ SenftenbergUniversitätsplatz 1SenftenbergD‐01958Germany
| | - Julia Ibrahim
- Sime Darby Technology CentreUPM‐MTDC Technology Centre IIILebuh Silikon1st Floor Block BUPM 43400SerdangSelangorMalaysia
| | - Yvonne Gräser
- Institute of Microbiology and ImmunologyCharité ‐ Universitätsmedizin BerlinCorporate Member of Freie Universität BerlinHumboldt‐Universität zu BerlinBerlinGermany
- Berlin Institute of HealthHindenburgdamm 30BerlinD‐12203Germany
| | - Chyan Leong Ng
- Institute of Systems BiologyUniversiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaBangiSelangor43600 UKMMalaysia
| | - Klaus‐Peter Stahmann
- Institute of BiotechnologyBrandenburg University of Technology Cottbus ‐ SenftenbergUniversitätsplatz 1SenftenbergD‐01958Germany
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Tamim El Jarkass H, Reinke AW. The ins and outs of host-microsporidia interactions during invasion, proliferation and exit. Cell Microbiol 2020; 22:e13247. [PMID: 32748538 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Microsporidia are a large group of fungal-related obligate intracellular parasites. They are responsible for infections in humans as well as in agriculturally and environmentally important animals. Although microsporidia are abundant in nature, many of the molecular mechanisms employed during infection have remained enigmatic. In this review, we highlight recent work showing how microsporidia invade, proliferate and exit from host cells. During invasion, microsporidia use spore wall and polar tube proteins to interact with host receptors and adhere to the host cell surface. In turn, the host has multiple defence mechanisms to prevent and eliminate these infections. Microsporidia encode numerous transporters and steal host nutrients to facilitate proliferation within host cells. They also encode many secreted proteins which may modulate host metabolism and inhibit host cell defence mechanisms. Spores exit the host in a non-lytic manner that is dependent on host actin and endocytic recycling proteins. Together, this work provides a fuller picture of the mechanisms that these fascinating organisms use to infect their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aaron W Reinke
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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