RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Nuclear hormone receptors promote gut and glia detoxifying enzyme induction and protect <em>C. elegans</em> from the mold <em>P. brevicompactum</em>
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.07.15.452486
DO 10.1101/2021.07.15.452486
A1 Sean W. Wallace
A1 Malcolm C. Lizzappi
A1 Hong Hur
A1 Yupu Liang
A1 Shai Shaham
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/15/2021.07.15.452486.abstract
AB Animals encounter microorganisms in their habitats, adapting physiology and behavior accordingly. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is found in microbe-rich environments; however, its responses to fungi are not extensively studied. Here we describe interactions of C. elegans and Penicillium brevicompactum, an ecologically-relevant mold. Transcriptome studies reveal that co-culture upregulates stress-response genes, including xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (XMEs), in C. elegans intestine and AMsh glial cells. The nuclear hormone receptors (NHR) NHR-45 and NHR-156 are key induction regulators, and mutants that cannot induce XMEs in the intestine when exposed to P. brevicompactum experience mitochondrial stress and exhibit developmental defects. Different C. elegans wild isolates harbor sequence polymorphisms in nhr-156, resulting in phenotypic diversity in AMsh glia responses to microbe exposure. We propose that P. brevicompactum mitochondria-targeting mycotoxins are deactivated by intestinal detoxification, allowing tolerance to moldy environments. Our studies support the idea that C. elegans NHR gene expansion/diversification underlies adaptation to microbial environments.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.