Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution
For a profound understanding of antagonistic coevolution, it is necessary to identify the coevolving genes. The bacterium Pasteuria and its host, the microcrustacean Daphnia, are a well-characterized paradigm for co-evolution, but the underlying genes remain largely unknown. A genome-wide associatio...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Royal Society
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231441 |
| _version_ | 1797224825921470464 |
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| author | Benjamin Huessy Dirk Bumann Dieter Ebert |
| author_facet | Benjamin Huessy Dirk Bumann Dieter Ebert |
| author_sort | Benjamin Huessy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For a profound understanding of antagonistic coevolution, it is necessary to identify the coevolving genes. The bacterium Pasteuria and its host, the microcrustacean Daphnia, are a well-characterized paradigm for co-evolution, but the underlying genes remain largely unknown. A genome-wide association study suggested a Pasteuria collagen-like protein 7 (Pcl7) as a candidate mediating parasite attachment and driving its coevolution with the host. Since Pasteuria ramosa cannot currently be genetically manipulated, we used Bacillus thuringiensis to express a fusion protein of a Pcl7 carboxy-terminus from P. ramosa and the amino-terminal domain of a B. thuringiensis collagen-like protein (CLP). Mutant B. thuringiensis (Pcl7-Bt) spores but not wild-type B. thuringiensis (WT-Bt) spores attached to the same site of susceptible hosts as P. ramosa. Furthermore, Pcl7-Bt spores attached readily to susceptible host genotypes, but only slightly to resistant host genotypes. These findings indicated that the fusion protein was properly expressed and folded and demonstrated that indeed the C-terminus of Pcl7 mediates attachment in a host genotype-specific manner. These results provide strong evidence for the involvement of a CLP in the coevolution of Daphnia and P. ramosa and open new avenues for genetic epidemiological studies of host–parasite interactions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:59:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a73beef178884947b7e9bae913fc5d8e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:59:17Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-a73beef178884947b7e9bae913fc5d8e2024-04-03T14:45:40ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032024-04-0111410.1098/rsos.231441Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolutionBenjamin Huessy0Dirk Bumann1Dieter Ebert2Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, University of Basel , Basel 4051, SwitzerlandUniversity of Basel , Basel 4056, SwitzerlandDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, University of Basel , Basel 4051, SwitzerlandFor a profound understanding of antagonistic coevolution, it is necessary to identify the coevolving genes. The bacterium Pasteuria and its host, the microcrustacean Daphnia, are a well-characterized paradigm for co-evolution, but the underlying genes remain largely unknown. A genome-wide association study suggested a Pasteuria collagen-like protein 7 (Pcl7) as a candidate mediating parasite attachment and driving its coevolution with the host. Since Pasteuria ramosa cannot currently be genetically manipulated, we used Bacillus thuringiensis to express a fusion protein of a Pcl7 carboxy-terminus from P. ramosa and the amino-terminal domain of a B. thuringiensis collagen-like protein (CLP). Mutant B. thuringiensis (Pcl7-Bt) spores but not wild-type B. thuringiensis (WT-Bt) spores attached to the same site of susceptible hosts as P. ramosa. Furthermore, Pcl7-Bt spores attached readily to susceptible host genotypes, but only slightly to resistant host genotypes. These findings indicated that the fusion protein was properly expressed and folded and demonstrated that indeed the C-terminus of Pcl7 mediates attachment in a host genotype-specific manner. These results provide strong evidence for the involvement of a CLP in the coevolution of Daphnia and P. ramosa and open new avenues for genetic epidemiological studies of host–parasite interactions.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231441Daphnia magnaPasteuria ramosaBacillus thuringiensiscollagen-like proteinshost–parasite interactionsfusion protein |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Huessy Dirk Bumann Dieter Ebert Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution Royal Society Open Science Daphnia magna Pasteuria ramosa Bacillus thuringiensis collagen-like proteins host–parasite interactions fusion protein |
| title | Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution |
| title_full | Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution |
| title_fullStr | Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution |
| title_short | Ectopical expression of bacterial collagen-like protein supports its role as adhesin in host–parasite coevolution |
| title_sort | ectopical expression of bacterial collagen like protein supports its role as adhesin in host parasite coevolution |
| topic | Daphnia magna Pasteuria ramosa Bacillus thuringiensis collagen-like proteins host–parasite interactions fusion protein |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231441 |
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