scholarly journals Thermal stress responses of Sodalis glossinidius, an indigenous bacterial symbiont of hematophagous tsetse flies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Santinni Roma ◽  
Shaina D’Souza ◽  
Patrick J. Somers ◽  
Leah F. Cabo ◽  
Ruhan Farsin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) house a taxonomically diverse microbiota that includes environmentally acquired bacteria, maternally transmitted symbiotic bacteria, and pathogenic African trypanosomes. Sodalis glossinidius, which is a facultative symbiont that resides intra and extracellularly within multiple tsetse tissues, has been implicated as a mediator of trypanosome infection establishment in the fly’s gut. Tsetse’s gut-associated population of Sodalis are subjected to marked temperature fluctuations each time their ectothermic fly host imbibes vertebrate blood. The molecular mechanisms that Sodalis employs to deal with this heat stress are unknown. In this study, we examined the thermal tolerance and heat shock response of Sodalis. When grown on BHI agar plates, the bacterium exhibited the most prolific growth at 25°C, and did not grow at temperatures above 30°C. Growth on BHI agar plates at 31°C was dependent on either the addition of blood to the agar or reduction in oxygen levels. Sodalis was viable in liquid cultures for 24 hours at 30°C, but began to die upon further exposure. The rate of death increased with increased temperature. Similarly, Sodalis was able to survive for 48 hours within tsetse flies housed at 30°C, while a higher temperature (37°C) was lethal. Sodalis’ genome contains homologues of the heat shock chaperone protein-encoding genes dnaK, dnaJ, and grpE, and their expression was up-regulated in thermally stressed Sodalis, both in vitro and in vivo within tsetse flies. Arrested growth of E. coli dnaK, dnaJ, or grpE mutants under thermal stress was reversed when the cells were transformed with a low copy plasmid that encoded the Sodalis homologues of these genes. The information contained in this study provides insight into how arthropod vector enteric commensals, many of which mediate their host’s ability to transmit pathogens, mitigate heat shock associated with the ingestion of a blood meal.AUTHOR SUMMARYMicroorganisms associated with insects must cope with fluctuating temperatures. Because symbiotic bacteria influence the biology of their host, how they respond to temperature changes will have an impact on the host and other microorganisms in the host. The tsetse fly and its symbionts represent an important model system for studying thermal tolerance because the fly feeds exclusively on vertebrate blood and is thus exposed to dramatic temperature shifts. Tsetse flies house a microbial community that can consist of symbiotic and environmentally acquired bacteria, viruses, and parasitic African trypanosomes. This work, which makes use of tsetse’s commensal symbiont, Sodalis glossinidius, is significance because it represents the only examination of thermal tolerance mechanisms in a bacterium that resides indigenously within an arthropod disease vector. A better understanding of the biology of thermal tolerance in Sodalis provides insight into thermal stress survival in other insect symbionts and may yield information to help control vector-borne disease.

2003 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2045-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
YI ZHANG ◽  
MANSEL W. GRIFFITHS

Heat shock proteins play an important role in protecting bacterial cells against several stresses, including starvation. In this study, the promoters for two genes encoding heat shock proteins involved in many stress responses, UspA and GrpE, were fused with the green fluorescent protein (gfp) gene. Thus, the expression of the two genes could be quantified by measuring the fluorescence emitted by the cells under different environmental conditions. The heat resistance levels of starved and nonstarved cells during storage at 5, 10, and 37°C were compared with the levels of expression of the uspA and grpE genes. D52-values (times required for decimal reductions in count at 52°C) increased by 11.5, 14.6, and 18.5 min when cells were starved for 3 h at 37°C, for 24 h at 10°C, and for 2 days at 5°C, respectively. In all cases, these increases were significant (P < 0.01), indicating that the stress imposed by starvation altered the ability of E. coli O157:H7 to survive subsequent heat treatments. Thermal tolerance was correlative with the induction of UspA and GrpE. At 5°C, the change in the thermal tolerance of the pathogen was positively linked to the induced expression of the grpE gene but negatively related to the expression of the uspA gene. The results obtained in this study indicate that UspA plays an important role in starvation-induced thermal tolerance at 37°C but that GrpE may be more involved in regulating this response at lower temperatures. An improvement in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in these cross-protection responses may make it possible to devise strategies to limit their effects.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (21) ◽  
pp. 7760-7768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele A. Maltz ◽  
Brian L. Weiss ◽  
Michelle O'Neill ◽  
Yineng Wu ◽  
Serap Aksoy

ABSTRACTMany bacteria successfully colonize animals by forming protective biofilms. Molecular processes that underlie the formation and function of biofilms in pathogenic bacteria are well characterized. In contrast, the relationship between biofilms and host colonization by symbiotic bacteria is less well understood. Tsetse flies (Glossinaspp.) house 3 maternally transmitted symbionts, one of which is a commensal (Sodalis glossinidius) found in several host tissues, including the gut. We determined thatSodalisforms biofilms in the tsetse gut and that this process is influenced by theSodalisouter membrane protein A (OmpA). MutantSodalisstrains that do not produce OmpA (SodalisΔOmpA mutants) fail to form biofilmsin vitroand are unable to colonize the tsetse gut unless endogenous symbiotic bacteria are present. Our data indicate that in the absence of biofilms,SodalisΔOmpA mutant cells are exposed to and eliminated by tsetse's innate immune system, suggesting that biofilms helpSodalisevade the host immune system. Tsetse is the sole vector of pathogenic African trypanosomes, which also reside in the fly gut. Acquiring a better understanding of the dynamics that promoteSodaliscolonization of the tsetse gut may enhance the development of novel disease control strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. e0007464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Santinni Roma ◽  
Shaina D’Souza ◽  
Patrick J. Somers ◽  
Leah F. Cabo ◽  
Ruhan Farsin ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 86 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 139-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin J. Rowbury

Biological thermometers are cellular components or structures which sense increasing temperatures, interaction of the thermometer and the thermal stress bringing about the switching-on of inducible responses, with gradually enhanced levels of response induction following gradually increasing temperatures. In enterobacteria, for studies of such thermometers, generally induction of heat shock protein (HSP) synthesis has been examined, with experimental studies aiming to establish (often indirectly) how the temperature changes which initiate HSP synthesis are sensed; numerous other processes and responses show graded induction as temperature is increased, and how the temperature changes which induce these are sensed is also of interest. Several classes of intracellular component and structure have been proposed as enterobacterial thermometers, with the ribosome and the DnaK chaperone being the most favoured, although for many of the proposed intracellular thermometers, most of the evidence for their functioning in this way is indirect. In contrast to the above, the studies reviewed here firmly establish that for four distinct stress responses, which are switched-on gradually as temperature increases, temperature changes are sensed by extracellular components (extracellular sensing components, ESCs) i.e. there is firm and direct evidence for the occurrence of extracellular thermometers. All four thermometers described here are proteins, which appear to be distinct and different from each other, and on sensing thermal stress are activated by it to four distinct extracellular induction components (EICs), which interact with receptors on the surface of organisms to induce the appropriate responses. It is predicted that many other temperature-induced processes, including the synthesis of HSPs, will be switched-on following the activation of similar extracellular thermometers by thermal stimuli.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. e0008267
Author(s):  
Edward Edmond Makhulu ◽  
Jandouwe Villinger ◽  
Vincent Owino Adunga ◽  
Maamun M. Jeneby ◽  
Edwin Murungi Kimathi ◽  
...  

African trypanosomiasis (AT) is a neglected disease of both humans and animals caused by Trypanosoma parasites, which are transmitted by obligate hematophagous tsetse flies (Glossina spp.). Knowledge on tsetse fly vertebrate hosts and the influence of tsetse endosymbionts on trypanosome presence, especially in wildlife-human-livestock interfaces, is limited. We identified tsetse species, their blood-meal sources, and correlations between endosymbionts and trypanosome presence in tsetse flies from the trypanosome-endemic Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya. Among 1167 tsetse flies (1136 Glossina pallidipes, 31 Glossina swynnertoni) collected from 10 sampling sites, 28 (2.4%) were positive by PCR for trypanosome DNA, most (17/28) being of Trypanosoma vivax species. Blood-meal analyses based on high-resolution melting analysis of vertebrate cytochrome c oxidase 1 and cytochrome b gene PCR products (n = 354) identified humans as the most common vertebrate host (37%), followed by hippopotamus (29.1%), African buffalo (26.3%), elephant (3.39%), and giraffe (0.84%). Flies positive for trypanosome DNA had fed on hippopotamus and buffalo. Tsetse flies were more likely to be positive for trypanosomes if they had the Sodalis glossinidius endosymbiont (P = 0.0002). These findings point to complex interactions of tsetse flies with trypanosomes, endosymbionts, and diverse vertebrate hosts in wildlife ecosystems such as in the MMNR, which should be considered in control programs. These interactions may contribute to the maintenance of tsetse populations and/or persistent circulation of African trypanosomes. Although the African buffalo is a key reservoir of AT, the higher proportion of hippopotamus blood-meals in flies with trypanosome DNA indicates that other wildlife species may be important in AT transmission. No trypanosomes associated with human disease were identified, but the high proportion of human blood-meals identified are indicative of human African trypanosomiasis risk. Our results add to existing data suggesting that Sodalis endosymbionts are associated with increased trypanosome presence in tsetse flies.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 839
Author(s):  
Ze Qing Miao ◽  
Yan Qing Tu ◽  
Peng Yu Guo ◽  
Wang He ◽  
Tian Xing Jing ◽  
...  

Psocids are a new risk for global food security and safety because they are significant worldwide pests of stored products. Among these psocids, Liposcelis bostrychophila has developed high levels of resistance or tolerance to heat treatment in grain storage systems, and thus has led to investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying heat tolerance in this pest. In this study, the time-related effects of thermal stress treatments at relatively high temperatures on the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidases (POD), glutathione-S-transferases (GST) and malondialdehyde (MDA), of L. bostrychophila were determined. Thermal stress resulted that L. bostrychophila had a significantly higher MDA concentration at 42.5 °C, which indicated that the heat stress increased lipid peroxidation (LPO) contents and oxidative stress in this psocid pest. Heat stress also resulted in significant elevation of SOD, CAT and GST activities but decreased POD activity. Our data indicates that different antioxidant enzymes contribute to defense mechanisms, counteracting oxidative damage in varying levels. POD play minor roles in scavenging deleterious LPO, while enhanced SOD, CAT and GST activities in response to thermal stress likely play a more important role against oxidative damage. Here, we firstly identified five LbHsps (four LbHsp70s and one LbHsp110) from psocids, and most of these LbHsps (except LbHsp70-1) are highly expressed at fourth instar nymph and adults, and LbHsp70-1 likely presents as a cognate form of HSP due to its non-significant changes of expression. Most LbHsp70s (except LbHsp70-4) are significantly induced at moderate high temperatures (<40 °C) and decreased at extreme high temperatures (40–45 °C), but LbHsp110-1 can be significantly induced at all high temperatures. Results of this study suggest that the LbHsp70s and LbHsp110 genes are involved in tolerance to thermal stress in L. bostrychophila, and antioxidant enzymes and heat shock proteins may be coordinately involved in the tolerance to thermal stress in psocids.


Parasite ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustave Simo ◽  
Sartrien Tagueu Kanté ◽  
Joule Madinga ◽  
Ginette Kame ◽  
Oumarou Farikou ◽  
...  

During the last 30 years, investigations on the microbiome of different tsetse species have generated substantial data on the bacterial flora of these cyclical vectors of African trypanosomes, with the overarching goal of improving the control of trypanosomiases. It is in this context that the presence of Wolbachia and Sodalis glossinidius was studied in wild populations of Glossina fuscipes quanzensis from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tsetse flies were captured with pyramidal traps. Of the 700 Glossina f. quanzensis captured, 360 were dissected and their midguts collected and analyzed. Sodalis glossinidius and Wolbachia were identified by PCR. The Wolbachia-positive samples were genetically characterized with five molecular markers. PCR revealed 84.78% and 15.55% midguts infected by Wolbachia and S. glossinidius, respectively. The infection rates varied according to capture sites. Of the five molecular markers used to characterize Wolbachia, only the fructose bis-phosphate aldolase gene was amplified for about 60% of midguts previously found with Wolbachia infections. The sequencing results confirmed the presence of Wolbachia and revealed the presence of S. glossinidius in the midgut of Glossina f. quanzensis. A low level of midguts were naturally co-infected by both bacteria. The data generated in this study open a framework for investigations aimed at understanding the contribution of these symbiotic microorganisms to the vectorial competence of Glossina fuscipes quanzensis.


mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora K. McNamara-Bordewick ◽  
Mia McKinstry ◽  
Jonathan W. Snow

ABSTRACT The majority of fungal species prefer the 12° to 30°C range, and relatively few species tolerate temperatures higher than 35°C. Our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the ability of some species to grow at higher temperatures is incomplete. Nosema ceranae is an obligate intracellular fungal parasite that infects honey bees and can cause individual mortality and contribute to colony collapse. Despite a reduced genome, this species is strikingly thermotolerant, growing optimally at the colony temperature of 35°C. In characterizing the heat shock response (HSR) in N. ceranae, we found that this and other microsporidian species have lost the transcriptional regulator HSF and possess a reduced set of putative core HSF1-dependent HSR target genes. Despite these losses, N. ceranae demonstrates robust upregulation of the remaining HSR target genes after heat shock. In addition, thermal stress leads to alterations in genes involved in various metabolic pathways, ribosome biogenesis and translation, and DNA repair. These results provide important insight into the stress responses of microsporidia. Such a new understanding will allow new comparisons with other pathogenic fungi and potentially enable the discovery of novel treatment strategies for microsporidian infections affecting food production and human health. IMPORTANCE We do not fully understand why some fungal species are able to grow at temperatures approaching mammalian body temperature. Nosema ceranae, a microsporidium, is a type of fungal parasite that infects honey bees and grows optimally at the colony temperature of 35°C despite possessing cellular machinery for responding to heat stress that is notably simpler than that of other fungi. We find that N. ceranae demonstrates a robust and broad response to heat shock. These results provide important insight into the stress responses of this type of fungus, allow new comparisons with other pathogenic fungi, and potentially enable the discovery of novel treatment strategies for this type of fungus.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 15706-15723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhao-Shi Xu ◽  
Zhi-Yong Li ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Lian-Cheng Li ◽  
...  

BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Medina Munoz ◽  
Caitlyn Brenner ◽  
Dylan Richmond ◽  
Noah Spencer ◽  
Rita V. M. Rio

Abstract Background Tsetse flies are the obligate vectors of African trypanosomes, which cause Human and Animal African Trypanosomiasis. Teneral flies (newly eclosed adults) are especially susceptible to parasite establishment and development, yet our understanding of why remains fragmentary. The tsetse gut microbiome is dominated by two Gammaproteobacteria, an essential and ancient mutualist Wigglesworthia glossinidia and a commensal Sodalis glossinidius. Here, we characterize and compare the metatranscriptome of teneral Glossina morsitans to that of G. brevipalpis and describe unique immunological, physiological, and metabolic landscapes that may impact vector competence differences between these two species. Results An active expression profile was observed for Wigglesworthia immediately following host adult metamorphosis. Specifically, ‘translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis’ followed by ‘coenzyme transport and metabolism’ were the most enriched clusters of orthologous genes (COGs), highlighting the importance of nutrient transport and metabolism even following host species diversification. Despite the significantly smaller Wigglesworthia genome more differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between interspecific isolates (n = 326, ~ 55% of protein coding genes) than between the corresponding Sodalis isolates (n = 235, ~ 5% of protein coding genes) likely reflecting distinctions in host co-evolution and adaptation. DEGs between Sodalis isolates included genes involved in chitin degradation that may contribute towards trypanosome susceptibility by compromising the immunological protection provided by the peritrophic matrix. Lastly, G. brevipalpis tenerals demonstrate a more immunologically robust background with significant upregulation of IMD and melanization pathways. Conclusions These transcriptomic differences may collectively contribute to vector competence differences between tsetse species and offers translational relevance towards the design of novel vector control strategies.


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