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Sharmin Z, Samarah H, Aldaya Bourricaudy R, Ochoa L, Serbus LR. Cross-validation of chemical and genetic disruption approaches to inform host cellular effects on Wolbachia abundance in Drosophila. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1364009. [PMID: 38591028 PMCID: PMC10999648 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1364009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria are widespread in nature, present in half of all insect species. The success of Wolbachia is supported by a commensal lifestyle. Unlike bacterial pathogens that overreplicate and harm host cells, Wolbachia infections have a relatively innocuous intracellular lifestyle. This raises important questions about how Wolbachia infection is regulated. Little is known about how Wolbachia abundance is controlled at an organismal scale. Methods This study demonstrates methodology for rigorous identification of cellular processes that affect whole-body Wolbachia abundance, as indicated by absolute counts of the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) gene. Results Candidate pathways, associated with well-described infection scenarios, were identified. Wolbachia-infected fruit flies were exposed to small molecule inhibitors known for targeting those same pathways. Sequential tests in D. melanogaster and D. simulans yielded a subset of chemical inhibitors that significantly affected whole-body Wolbachia abundance, including the Wnt pathway disruptor, IWR-1 and the mTOR pathway inhibitor, Rapamycin. The implicated pathways were genetically retested for effects in D. melanogaster, using inducible RNAi expression driven by constitutive as well as chemically-induced somatic GAL4 expression. Genetic disruptions of armadillo, tor, and ATG6 significantly affected whole-body Wolbachia abundance. Discussion As such, the data corroborate reagent targeting and pathway relevance to whole-body Wolbachia infection. The results also implicate Wnt and mTOR regulation of autophagy as important for regulation of Wolbachia titer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zinat Sharmin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Hani Samarah
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Rafael Aldaya Bourricaudy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Laura Ochoa
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Laura Renee Serbus
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
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Fratini F, Ciurli L, Forzan M, Kaboudari A, Copelotti E, Paci G, Mancini S. Contamination of Zophobas morio Larvae Rearing Substrate with Listeria monocytogenes: A Preliminary Study. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13071198. [PMID: 37048454 PMCID: PMC10092993 DOI: 10.3390/ani13071198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The interest in edible insects is continuously increasing due to their environmental, nutritional, and productive features. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects and survival of Listeria monocytogenes in Zophobas morio rearing, using two different bacterial loads (2 and 6 log CFU/g). We also considered the effect of washing, fasting, and cooking treatments on the larvae. During the experimental trial, no mortality was observed among the larvae. The L. monocytogenes loads decreased over time, and it was below the detection limit for crates inoculated with 2 log CFU/g, while the substrate inoculated with 6 log CFU/g reached loads of 4.26 (without larvae) and 2.83 log CFU/g (with larvae). Due to the absence of L. monocytogenes in the larvae on day seven, it was not possible to assess the fasting treatment or the washing and the cooking. However, when looking at the total microbial count, significant effects were revealed for all treatments. The unfasted larvae showed no effect of washing, while the total microbial counts decreased after washing in the fasted larvae. This proves that fasting is a good treatment in terms of hygiene assurance for the consumer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Fratini
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
- Interdepartmental Research Center “Nutraceuticals and Food for Health”, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Ciurli
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Mario Forzan
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Ata Kaboudari
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Urmia University, Urmia P.O. Box 1177, Iran
| | - Emma Copelotti
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Gisella Paci
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
- Interdepartmental Research Center “Nutraceuticals and Food for Health”, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Simone Mancini
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, Viale delle Piagge 2, 56124 Pisa, Italy
- Interdepartmental Research Center “Nutraceuticals and Food for Health”, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
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Petronio Petronio G, Pietrangelo L, Cutuli MA, Magnifico I, Venditti N, Guarnieri A, Abate GA, Yewhalaw D, Davinelli S, Di Marco R. Emerging Evidence on Tenebrio molitor Immunity: A Focus on Gene Expression Involved in Microbial Infection for Host-Pathogen Interaction Studies. Microorganisms 2022; 10:1983. [PMID: 36296259 PMCID: PMC9611967 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10101983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the scientific community's interest in T. molitor as an insect model to investigate immunity and host-pathogen interactions has considerably increased. The reasons for this growing interest could be explained by the peculiar features of this beetle, which offers various advantages compared to other invertebrates models commonly used in laboratory studies. Thus, this review aimed at providing a broad view of the T. molitor immune system in light of the new scientific evidence on the developmental/tissue-specific gene expression studies related to microbial infection. In addition to the well-known cellular component and humoral response process, several studies investigating the factors associated with T. molitor immune response or deepening of those already known have been reported. However, various aspects remain still less understood, namely the possible crosstalk between the immune deficiency protein and Toll pathways and the role exerted by T. molitor apolipoprotein III in the expression of the antimicrobial peptides. Therefore, further research is required for T. molitor to be recommended as an alternative insect model for pathogen-host interaction and immunity studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Petronio Petronio
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Laura Pietrangelo
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Marco Alfio Cutuli
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Irene Magnifico
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Noemi Venditti
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Antonio Guarnieri
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Getnet Atinafu Abate
- Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos P.O. Box 269, Ethiopia
| | - Delenasaw Yewhalaw
- School of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma P.O. Box 307, Ethiopia
- Tropical and Infectious Diseases Research Center, Jimma University, Jimma P.O. Box 378, Ethiopia
| | - Sergio Davinelli
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
| | - Roberto Di Marco
- Department of Medicine and Health Science “V. Tiberio”, Università degli Studi del Molise, 8600 Campobasso, Italy
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Jo YH, Lee JH, Patnaik BB, Keshavarz M, Lee YS, Han YS. Autophagy in Tenebrio molitor Immunity: Conserved Antimicrobial Functions in Insect Defenses. Front Immunol 2021; 12:667664. [PMID: 34135896 PMCID: PMC8202003 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.667664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The yellow mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) has been exploited as an experimental model to unravel the intricacies of cellular and humoral immunity against pathogenic infections. Studies on this insect model have provided valuable insights into the phenotypic plasticity of immune defenses against parasites and pathogens. It has thus been possible to characterize the hemocoelic defenses of T. molitor that rely on the recognition of non-self-components of pathogens by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The subsequent signaling cascade activating pathways such as the NF-κB controlled by Toll and IMD pathways lead to the synthesis of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), onset of hemocyte-driven phagocytosis, and activation of the prophenoloxidase cascade regulating the process of melanization. Nevertheless, the activation of autophagy-mediated defenses of T. molitor against the facultative intracellular gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes provides clear evidence of the existence of a cross-talk between autophagy and the IMD pathway. Moreover, the identification of several autophagy-related genes (Atgs) in T. molitor transcriptome and expressed sequence tag (EST) databases has contributed to the understanding of the autophagy-signaling cascade triggered by L. monocytogenes challenge. Providing further evidence of the cross-talk hypothesis, TmRelish has been shown to be required not only for regulating the synthesis of AMPs through the PGRP-LE/IMD pathway activation but also for the expression of Atgs in T. molitor larvae following L. monocytogenes challenge. Notably, L. monocytogenes can stimulate the T. molitor innate immune system by producing molecules recognized by the multifunctional PRR (TmPGRP-LE), which stimulates intracellular activation of the IMD pathway and autophagy. Considering the conservation of autophagy components involved in combating intracellular pathogens, it will be interesting to extrapolate a dynamic cross-talk model of immune activation. This review summarizes the most significant findings on the regulation of autophagy in T. molitor during L. monocytogenes infection and on the role of the innate immunity machinery, including the NF-κB pathway, in the control of pathogenic load.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Hun Jo
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea
| | - Jung Hee Lee
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea
| | - Bharat Bhusan Patnaik
- P. G. Department of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Fakir Mohan University, Balasore, India
| | - Maryam Keshavarz
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Institute for Biology-Zoology, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yong Seok Lee
- Department of Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Soonchunhyang University, Asan City, South Korea
| | - Yeon Soo Han
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea
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Edosa TT, Jo YH, Keshavarz M, Kim IS, Han YS. Biosurfactants Induce Antimicrobial Peptide Production through the Activation of TmSpatzles in Tenebrio molitor. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21176090. [PMID: 32847078 PMCID: PMC7504391 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21176090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Biosurfactant immunomodulatory activities in mammals, nematodes, and plants have been investigated. However, the immune activation property of biosurfactants in insects has not been reported. Therefore, here, we studied the defense response triggered by lipopeptides (fengycin and iturin A), glycolipids (rhamnolipid), and cyclic polypeptides (bacitracin) in the coleopteran insect, mealworm Tenebrio molitor. The in vitro antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and fungi (Candida albicans) were assessed by mixing these pathogens with the hemolymph of biosurfactant-immune-activated larvae. E. coli growth was remarkably inhibited by this hemolymph. The antimicrobial peptide (AMP) induction results also revealed that all biosurfactants tested induced several AMPs, exclusively in hemocytes. The survivability analysis of T. molitor larvae challenged by E. coli (106 CFU/µL) at 24 h post biosurfactant-immune activation showed that fengycin, iturin A, and rhamnopid significantly increased survivability against E. coli. Biosurfactant-induced TmSpatzles activation was also monitored, and the results showed that TmSpz3 and TmSpz-like were upregulated in the hemocytes of iturin A-injected larvae, while TmSpz4 and TmSpz6 were upregulated in the fat bodies of the fengycin-, iturin A-, and rhamnolipid-injected larvae. Overall, these results suggest that lipopeptide and glycolipid biosurfactants induce the expression of AMPs in T. molitor via the activation of spätzle genes, thereby increasing the survivability of T. molitor against E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tariku Tesfaye Edosa
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea; (T.T.E.); (Y.H.J.); (M.K.)
- Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ambo Agricultural Research Center, Ambo 37, Ethiopia
| | - Yong Hun Jo
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea; (T.T.E.); (Y.H.J.); (M.K.)
| | - Maryam Keshavarz
- Department of Applied Biology, Institute of Environmentally-Friendly Agriculture (IEFA), College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea; (T.T.E.); (Y.H.J.); (M.K.)
| | - In Seon Kim
- Department of Agricultural Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea;
| | - Yeon Soo Han
- Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ambo Agricultural Research Center, Ambo 37, Ethiopia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +82-62-530-2072
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