ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Host-Microbe Interaction 2018

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2018) | Viewed by 43088

Special Issue Editors

Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies/Department of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Apdo. 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: biocontrol; nematophagous fungi; entomopathogenic fungi; chitosan; plant pathology; endophytes; fungal "omics"
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies/Department of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Apdo. 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: new antimicrobial compounds as a solution for emerging diseases; chitosan and natural biopolymers with properties against human pathogenic filamentous fungi and yeast
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a follow-up of the last "Host-Microbe Interaction"; Special Issue. We would like to introduce, in this new issue, the multiscale and dynamic nature of ecosystems. Therefore, we envisage a focus on multitrophic microbial interactions of diverse biological outcome (pathogenesis, mutualism, etc.) with hosts of pluricelular or unicelular natures. The concept of the microbiome will be pursued and scientific contributions on microbial interactions of importance in ecology (habitat conservation and human impact), agro-food (food security), medical, and industrial activities are all welcome. All original or review articles should include hard data on the role of molecules (-omics) in these multitrophic interactions. We also encourage work on sequencing technologies and bioinformatics applied to the study of microbe interactomics. The role of new developments in microbe interactions in system biology is also a key issue.

Prof. Dr. Luis V. Lopez-Llorca
Dr. Federico Lopez-Moya
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Secretome

  • host response

  • attenuation of pathogenesis

  • biocontrol

  • coevolution

  • horizontal gene transfer

  • Interactomics

  • Systems Biology

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (9 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

24 pages, 4473 KiB  
Article
Respiratory Bordetella bronchiseptica Carriage is Associated with Broad Phenotypic Alterations of Peripheral CD4+CD25+ T Cells and Differentially Affects Immune Responses to Secondary Non-Infectious and Infectious Stimuli in Mice
by Andreas Jeron, Julia D. Boehme, Julia Volckmar, Marcus Gereke, Tetyana Yevsa, Robert Geffers, Carlos A. Guzmán, Jens Schreiber, Sabine Stegemann-Koniszewski and Dunja Bruder
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(9), 2602; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19092602 - 01 Sep 2018
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3433
Abstract
The respiratory tract is constantly exposed to the environment and displays a favorable niche for colonizing microorganisms. However, the effects of respiratory bacterial carriage on the immune system and its implications for secondary responses remain largely unclear. We have employed respiratory carriage with [...] Read more.
The respiratory tract is constantly exposed to the environment and displays a favorable niche for colonizing microorganisms. However, the effects of respiratory bacterial carriage on the immune system and its implications for secondary responses remain largely unclear. We have employed respiratory carriage with Bordetella bronchiseptica as the underlying model to comprehensively address effects on subsequent immune responses. Carriage was associated with the stimulation of Bordetella-specific CD4+, CD8+, and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cell responses, and broad transcriptional activation was observed in CD4+CD25+ T cells. Importantly, transfer of leukocytes from carriers to acutely B. bronchiseptica infected mice, resulted in a significantly increased bacterial burden in the recipient’s upper respiratory tract. In contrast, we found that respiratory B. bronchiseptica carriage resulted in a significant benefit for the host in systemic infection with Listeria monocytogenes. Adaptive responses to vaccination and influenza A virus infection, were unaffected by B. bronchiseptica carriage. These data showed that there were significant immune modulatory processes triggered by B. bronchiseptica carriage, that differentially affect subsequent immune responses. Therefore, our results demonstrated the complexity of immune regulation induced by respiratory bacterial carriage, which can be beneficial or detrimental to the host, depending on the pathogen and the considered compartment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 7284 KiB  
Article
Immune-Related Functional Differential Gene Expression in Koi Carp (Cyprinus carpio) after Challenge with Aeromonas sobria
by Omkar Byadgi, Yao-Chung Chen, Shun Maekawa, Pei-Chyi Wang and Shih-Chu Chen
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(7), 2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19072107 - 20 Jul 2018
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3734
Abstract
In order to understand the molecular basis underlying the host immune response of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), Illumina HiSeqTM 2000 is used to analyze the muscle and spleen transcriptome of koi carp infected with Aeromonas sobria (A. sobria). [...] Read more.
In order to understand the molecular basis underlying the host immune response of koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), Illumina HiSeqTM 2000 is used to analyze the muscle and spleen transcriptome of koi carp infected with Aeromonas sobria (A. sobria). De novo assembly of paired-end reads yielded 69,480 unigenes, of which the total length, average length, N50, and GC content are 70,120,028 bp, 1037 bp, 1793 bp, and 45.77%, respectively. Annotation is performed by comparison against various databases, yielding 42,229 (non-redundant protein sequence (NR): 60.78%), 59,255 (non-redundant nucleotide (NT): 85.28%), 35,900 (Swiss-Prot: 51.67%), 11,772 (clusters of orthologous groups (COG): 16.94%), 33,057 (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG): 47.58%), 18,764 (Gene Ontology (GO): 27.01%), and 32,085 (Interpro: 46.18%) unigenes. Comparative analysis of the expression profiles between bacterial challenge fish and control fish identifies 7749 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the muscle and 7846 DEGs from the spleen. These DEGs are further categorized with KEGG. Enrichment analysis of the DEGs and unigenes reveals major immune-related functions, including up-regulation of genes related with Toll-like receptor signaling, complement and coagulation cascades, and antigen processing and presentation. The results from RNA-Seq data are also validated and confirmed the consistency of the expression levels of seven immune-related genes after 24 h post infection with qPCR. Microsatellites (11,534), including di-to hexa nucleotide repeat motifs, are also identified. Altogether, this work provides valuable insights into the underlying immune mechanisms elicited during bacterial infection in koi carp that may aid in the future development of disease control measures in protection against A. sobria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

24 pages, 5718 KiB  
Article
Biodiversity and Activity of Gut Fungal Communities across the Life History of Trypophloeus klimeschi (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)
by Guanqun Gao, Jing Gao, Chunfeng Hao, Lulu Dai and Hui Chen
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(7), 2010; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19072010 - 10 Jul 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2932
Abstract
We comprehensively investigated the biodiversity of fungal communities in different developmental stages of Trypophloeus klimeschi and the difference between sexes and two generations by high throughput sequencing. The predominant species found in the intestinal fungal communities mainly belong to the phyla Ascomycota and [...] Read more.
We comprehensively investigated the biodiversity of fungal communities in different developmental stages of Trypophloeus klimeschi and the difference between sexes and two generations by high throughput sequencing. The predominant species found in the intestinal fungal communities mainly belong to the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Fungal community structure varies with life stage. The genera Nakazawaea, Trichothecium, Aspergillus, Didymella, Villophora, and Auricularia are most prevalent in the larvae samples. Adults harbored high proportions of Graphium. The fungal community structures found in different sexes are similar. Fusarium is the most abundant genus and conserved in all development stages. Gut fungal communities showed notable variation in relative abundance during the overwintering stage. Fusarium and Nectriaceae were significantly increased in overwintering mature larvae. The data indicates that Fusarium might play important roles in the survival of T. klimeschi especially in the overwintering stage. The authors speculated that Graphium plays an important role in the invasion and colonization of T. klimeschi. The study will contribute to the understanding of the biological role of the intestinal fungi in T. klimeschi, which might provide an opportunity and theoretical basis to promote integrated pest management (IPM) of T. klimeschi. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 22989 KiB  
Article
MicroRNA-146a Deficiency Protects against Listeria monocytogenes Infection by Modulating the Gut Microbiota
by Chong-Tao Du, Wei Gao, Ke Ma, Shui-Xing Yu, Na Li, Shi-Qing Yan, Feng-Hua Zhou, Zhen-Zhen Liu, Wei Chen, Lian-Cheng Lei, Yong-Jun Yang and Wen-Yu Han
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(4), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19040993 - 26 Mar 2018
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5428
Abstract
The gut microbiota and microRNAs play important roles in the defense against infection. However, the role of miR-146a in L. monocytogenes infection and gut microbiota remains unclear. We tried to determine whether miR-146a controlled L. monocytogenes infection by regulating the gut microbiota. Wild-type [...] Read more.
The gut microbiota and microRNAs play important roles in the defense against infection. However, the role of miR-146a in L. monocytogenes infection and gut microbiota remains unclear. We tried to determine whether miR-146a controlled L. monocytogenes infection by regulating the gut microbiota. Wild-type and miR-146a-deficient mice or macrophages were used to characterize the impact of miR-146a on animal survival, cell death, bacterial clearance, and gut microbiota following L. monocytogenes challenge. We found that L. monocytogenes infection induced miR-146a expression both in vitro and in vivo. When compared to wild-type mice, miR-146a-deficient mice were more resistant to L. monocytogenes infection. MiR-146a deficiency in macrophages resulted in reduced invasion and intracellular survival of L. monocytogenes. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that the gut microbiota composition differed between miR-146a-deficient and wild-type mice. Relative to wild-type mice, miR-146a-deficient mice had decreased levels of the Proteobacteria phylum, Prevotellaceae family, and Parasutterella genus, and significantly increased short-chain fatty acid producing bacteria, including the genera Alistipes, Blautia, Coprococcus_1, and Ruminococcus_1. Wild-type mice co-housed with miR-146a-deficient mice had increased resistance to L. monocytogenes, indicating that miR-146a deficiency guides the gut microbiota to alleviate infection. Together, these results suggest that miR-146a deficiency protects against L. monocytogenes infection by regulating the gut microbiota. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

1845 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome-Wide Identification and Characterization of Potato Circular RNAs in Response to Pectobacterium carotovorum Subspecies brasiliense Infection
by Ran Zhou, Yongxing Zhu, Jiao Zhao, Zhengwu Fang, Shuping Wang, Junliang Yin, Zhaohui Chu and Dongfang Ma
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(1), 71; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19010071 - 27 Dec 2017
Cited by 48 | Viewed by 5358
Abstract
Little information about the roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) during potato-Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense (Pcb) interaction is currently available. In this study, we conducted the systematic identification of circRNAs from time series samples of potato cultivars Valor (susceptible) and BP1 [...] Read more.
Little information about the roles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) during potato-Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense (Pcb) interaction is currently available. In this study, we conducted the systematic identification of circRNAs from time series samples of potato cultivars Valor (susceptible) and BP1 (disease tolerant) infected by Pcb. A total of 2098 circRNAs were detected and about half (931, 44.38%) were intergenic circRNAs. And differential expression analysis detected 429 significantly regulated circRNAs. circRNAs play roles by regulating parental genes and sponging miRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment of parental genes and miRNAs targeted mRNAs revealed that these differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs were involved in defense response (GO:0006952), cell wall (GO:0005199), ADP binding (GO:0043531), phosphorylation (GO:0016310), and kinase activity (GO:0016301), suggesting the roles of circRNAs in regulating potato immune response. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) found that circRNAs were closely related with coding-genes and long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs). And together they were cultivar-specifically regulated to strengthen immune response of potato to Pcb infection, implying the roles of circRNAs in reprogramming disease responsive transcriptome. Our results will provide new insights into the potato-Pcb interaction and may lead to novel disease control strategy in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

5148 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Caste-Specific Multi-Layer Defense Mechanism of Formosan Subterranean Termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki
by Abid Hussain, Shuo-Yang Wen and Ming-Yi Tian
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(12), 2694; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18122694 - 12 Dec 2017
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3462
Abstract
The survival and foraging of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in a microbe-rich environment reflect the adaptation of an extraordinary, sophisticated defense mechanism by the nest-mates. We aimed to explore the host pathogen interaction by studying caste-specific volatile chemistry and genes encoding the antioxidant defense [...] Read more.
The survival and foraging of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki in a microbe-rich environment reflect the adaptation of an extraordinary, sophisticated defense mechanism by the nest-mates. We aimed to explore the host pathogen interaction by studying caste-specific volatile chemistry and genes encoding the antioxidant defense of winged imagoes, nymphs, soldiers and workers of Formosan subterranean termites. Qualitative analyses of C. formosanus Shiraki performed by HS-SPME/GC-MS showed considerable variations in the chemical composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their proportions among all the castes. Winged imagoes produced the most important compounds such as naphthalene and n-hexanoic acid. The antifungal activity of these compounds along with nonanal, n-pentadecane, n-tetradecane, n-heptadecane and methyl octanoate against the conidial suspensions of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana isolates enable us to suggest that the failure of natural fungal infection in the nest is due to the antiseptic environment of the nest, which is mainly controlled by the VOCs of nest-mates. In addition, conidial germination of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana isolates evaluated on the cuticle of each caste showed significant variations among isolates and different castes. Our results showed that the conidia of M. anisopliae 02049 exhibited the highest germination on the cuticle of all the inoculated castes. Moreover, we recorded the lowest germination of the conidia of B. bassiana 200436. Caste-specific germination variations enabled us to report for the first time that the cuticle of winged imagoes was found to be the most resistant cuticle. The analysis of the transcriptome of C. formosanus Shiraki revealed the identification of 17 genes directly involved in antioxidant defense. Expression patterns of the identified antioxidant genes by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) revealed the significantly highest upregulation of CAT, GST, PRXSL, Cu/Zn-SOD2, TXN1, TXN2, TXNL1, TXNL2, TXNL4A and TPx genes among winged imagoes upon infection with the most virulent isolate, M. anisopliae 02049. Furthermore, soldiers showed the least expression of genes encoding antioxidant defense. Our findings indicated that the volatile chemistry of nest-mates and genes encoding antioxidant defense greatly contribute to the survival and foraging of Formosan subterranean termites in a microbe-rich habitat. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Figure 1

8563 KiB  
Article
Tongue Sole CD209: A Pattern-Recognition Receptor that Binds a Broad Range of Microbes and Promotes Phagocytosis
by Shuai Jiang and Li Sun
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(9), 1848; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18091848 - 04 Sep 2017
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4901
Abstract
CD209 is an immune receptor that plays an important role in the initiation of innate immunity and activation of adaptive immunity in mammals. However, much less is known about the immunological function of CD209 in lower vertebrates. In the present study, we examined [...] Read more.
CD209 is an immune receptor that plays an important role in the initiation of innate immunity and activation of adaptive immunity in mammals. However, much less is known about the immunological function of CD209 in lower vertebrates. In the present study, we examined the immune effect of a CD209 homologue (CsCD209) from the teleost fish tongue sole Cynoglossus semilaevis. CsCD209 possesses a lectin domain that shares high levels of similarity with the lectin domains of human and mouse CD209. CsCD209 expression was most abundant in kidney and blood and was significantly upregulated during bacterial infection. CsCD209 exhibited a subcellular localization mainly on the cell surface of myelomonocytes. Recombinant CsCD209 displayed apparent binding capacities to a broad range of bacteria and fungi, and significantly promoted the phagocytosis of the bound bacteria by C. semilaevis leukocytes. Collectively, the results indicate that teleost CD209 serves as a pattern recognition receptor that exerts an influence on the phagocytosis process during pathogen infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

18 pages, 2778 KiB  
Review
Immune Ecosystem of Virus-Infected Host Tissues
by Mohamed Maarouf, Kul Raj Rai, Mohsan Ullah Goraya and Ji-Long Chen
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(5), 1379; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19051379 - 06 May 2018
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 6225
Abstract
Virus infected host cells serve as a central immune ecological niche during viral infection and replication and stimulate the host immune response via molecular signaling. The viral infection and multiplication process involves complex intracellular molecular interactions between viral components and the host factors. [...] Read more.
Virus infected host cells serve as a central immune ecological niche during viral infection and replication and stimulate the host immune response via molecular signaling. The viral infection and multiplication process involves complex intracellular molecular interactions between viral components and the host factors. Various types of host cells are also involved to modulate immune factors in delicate and dynamic equilibrium to maintain a balanced immune ecosystem in an infected host tissue. Antiviral host arsenals are equipped to combat or eliminate viral invasion. However, viruses have evolved with strategies to counter against antiviral immunity or hijack cellular machinery to survive inside host tissue for their multiplication. However, host immune systems have also evolved to neutralize the infection; which, in turn, either clears the virus from the infected host or causes immune-mediated host tissue injury. A complex relationship between viral pathogenesis and host antiviral defense could define the immune ecosystem of virus-infected host tissues. Understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying this ecosystem would uncover strategies to modulate host immune function for antiviral therapeutics. This review presents past and present updates of immune-ecological components of virus infected host tissue and explains how viruses subvert the host immune surveillances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Figure 1

3468 KiB  
Review
Novel Molecular Insights about Lactobacillar Sortase-Dependent Piliation
by Ingemar Von Ossowski
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(7), 1551; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18071551 - 18 Jul 2017
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6911
Abstract
One of the more conspicuous structural features that punctuate the outer cell surface of certain bacterial Gram-positive genera and species is the sortase-dependent pilus. As these adhesive and variable-length protrusions jut outward from the cell, they provide a physically expedient and useful means [...] Read more.
One of the more conspicuous structural features that punctuate the outer cell surface of certain bacterial Gram-positive genera and species is the sortase-dependent pilus. As these adhesive and variable-length protrusions jut outward from the cell, they provide a physically expedient and useful means for the initial contact between a bacterium and its ecological milieu. The sortase-dependent pilus displays an elongated macromolecular architecture consisting of two to three types of monomeric protein subunits (pilins), each with their own specific function and location, and that are joined together covalently by the transpeptidyl activity of a pilus-specific C-type sortase enzyme. Sortase-dependent pili were first detected among the Gram-positive pathogens and subsequently categorized as an essential virulence factor for host colonization and tissue invasion by these harmful bacteria. However, the sortase-dependent pilus was rebranded as also a niche-adaptation factor after it was revealed that “friendly” Gram-positive commensals exhibit the same kind of pilus structures, which includes two contrasting gut-adapted species from the Lactobacillus genus, allochthonous Lactobacillus rhamnosus and autochthonous Lactobacillus ruminis. This review will highlight and discuss what has been learned from the latest research carried out and published on these lactobacillar pilus types. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2018)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop