Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

Molecular Regulation Of The Salicylic Acid Hormone Pathway In Plants Under Changing Environmental Conditions, Christina A. M. Rossi, Eric J. R. Marchetta, Jong Hum Kim, Christian Castroverde

Biology Faculty Publications

Salicylic acid (SA) is a central plant hormone mediating immunity, growth, and development. Recently, studies have highlighted the sensitivity of the SA pathway to changing climatic factors and the plant microbiome. Here we summarize organizing principles and themes in the regulation of SA biosynthesis, signaling, and metabolism by changing abiotic/biotic environments, focusing on molecular nodes governing SA pathway vulnerability or resilience. We especially highlight advances in the thermosensitive mechanisms underpinning SA-mediated immunity, including differential regulation of key transcription factors (e.g., CAMTAs, CBP60g, SARD1, bHLH059), selective protein–protein interactions of the SA receptor NPR1, and dynamic phase separation of the recently identified …

Salicylic Acid And N-Hydroxypipecolic Acid At The Fulcrum Of The Plant Immunity-Growth Equilibrium, Alyssa Shields, Vanessa Shivnauth, Christian Danve M. Castroverde

Biology Faculty Publications

Salicylic acid (SA) and N-hydroxypipecolic acid (NHP) are two central plant immune signals involved in both resistance at local sites of pathogen infection (basal resistance) and at distal uninfected sites after primary infection (systemic acquired resistance). Major discoveries and advances have led to deeper understanding of their biosynthesis and signaling during plant defense responses. In addition to their well-defined roles in immunity, recent research is emerging on their direct mechanistic impacts on plant growth and development. In this review, we will first provide an overview of how SA and NHP regulate local and systemic immune responses in plants. We …

Field Evaluation Of Recombinant Antigen Elisa In Detecting Zoonotic Schistosome Infection Among Water Buffaloes In Endemic Municipalities In The Philippines, Jose Ma. M. Angeles, Yasuyuki Goto, Masahi Kirinoki, Elena A. Villacorte, Kharleezelle J. Moendeg, Pilarita T. Rivera, Yuichi Chigusa, Shin-Ichiro Kawazu

Biology Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated the use of recombinant antigens thioredoxin peroxidase-1 (rSjTPx-1) and tandem repeat rSj1TR in evaluating the antibody positivity rates of Schistosoma japonicum infection among water buffaloes from four endemic areas in the Philippines, two municipalities with high endemicity (Calatrava, Negros Occidental and Catarman, Northern Samar) and two municipalities nearing elimination with no cases of human schistosomiasis (Talibon and Trinidad, Bohol). These recombinant antigen ELISA assays were compared with other diagnostic tests including SEA-ELISA, FECT, and fecal-based PCR. Results showed that rSj1TR-ELISA has the highest agreement with PCR in all study areas. Furthermore, significant positivity rates among …

Analyses Of The Expression, Immunohistochemical Properties And Serodiagnostic Potential Of Schistosoma Japonicum Peroxiredoxin-4, Minh-Anh Dang-Trinh, Jose Ma. M. Angeles, Kharleezelle J. Moendeg, Adrian Miki C. Macalanda, Thu-Thuy Nguyen, Luna Higuchi, Shotaro Nakagun, Masahi Kirinoki, Yuichi Chigusa, Yasuyuki Goto, Shin-Ichiro Kawazu

Biology Faculty Publications

Background

Schistosoma japonicum, which inhabits the mesenteric vein of the mammalian hosts for about 20 to 30 years, is subjected to the oxidative stresses from the host defense mechanism during their intra-mammalian stages. To counteract this host immune attack, the parasite utilizes their antioxidant system for survival inside the host. Peroxiredoxins (Prxs), thiol-specific antioxidant proteins, play an essential role for protecting the parasite against oxidative stress by reducing hydrogen peroxide to water. Only three types of 2-Cys Prxs have been previously characterized in S. japonicum whereas a fourth Prx has been identified for Schistosoma mansoni as Prx-4. A sequence …

The Conserved G-Protein Coupled Receptor Fshr-1 Regulates Protective Host Responses To Infection And Oxidative Stress, Elizabeth V. Miller, Leah N. Grandi, Jennifer A. Giannini, Joseph D. Robinson, Jennifer R. Powell

Biology Faculty Publications

The innate immune system’s ability to sense an infection is critical so that it can rapidly respond if pathogenic microorganisms threaten the host, but otherwise maintain a quiescent baseline state to avoid causing damage to the host or to commensal microorganisms. One important mechanism for discriminating between pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria is the recognition of cellular damage caused by a pathogen during the course of infection. InCaenorhabditis elegans, the conserved G-protein coupled receptor FSHR-1 is an important constituent of the innate immune response. FSHR-1 activates the expression of antimicrobial infection response genes in infected worms and delays accumulation …

Aquastella Gen. Nov.: A New Genus Of Saprolegniaceous Oomycete Rotifer Parasites Related To Aphanomyces, With Unique Sporangial Outgrowths, Daniel P. Molloy, Sally L. Glockling, Clifford A. Siegfried, Gordon W. Beakes, Timothy Y. James, Sergey E. Mastitsky, Elizabeth S. Wurdak, Laure Giamberini, Michael J. Gaylo, Michael J. Nemeth

Biology Faculty Publications

The oomycete genus Aquastella is described to accommodate two new species of parasites of rotifers observed in Brooktrout Lake, New York State, USA. Three rotifer species – Keratella taurocephala,Polyarthra vulgaris, and Ploesoma truncatum – were infected, and this is the first report of oomycete infection in these species. Aquastella attenuata was specific to K. taurocephala and Aquastella aciculariswas specific to P. vulgaris and P. truncatum. The occurrence of infections correlated with peak host population densities and rotifers were infected in the upper layers of the water column. Sequencing of 18S rRNA and phylogenetic analysis of …

Conidia But Not Yeast Cells Of The Fungal Pathogen Histoplasma Capsulatum Trigger A Type I Interferon Innate Immune Response In Murine Macrophages, Diane O. Inglis, Charlotte A. Berkes, Davina R. Hocking Murray, Anita Sil

Biology Faculty Publications

Histoplasma capsulatum is the most common cause of fungal respiratory infections and can lead to progressive disseminated infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients. Infection occurs upon inhalation of the aerosolized spores, known as conidia. Once inside the host, conidia are phagocytosed by alveolar macrophages. The conidia subsequently germinate and produce a budding yeast-like form that colonizes host macrophages and can disseminate throughout host organs and tissues. Even though conidia are the predominant infectious particle for H. capsulatum and are the first cell type encountered by the host during infection, very little is known at a molecular level about conidia or about …

Redescription Of The Frog Bladder Fluke Gorgoderina Attenuata From The Northern Leopard Frog, Rana Pipiens, Matthew G. Bolek, Scott D. Snyder, John J. Janovy Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

Morphological characters used to differentiate North American bladder flukes, Gorgoderina spp., are problematic and different authors use different morphological characteristics for distinguishing species. More importantly, no type specimens exist for four of the 12 North American species infecting anuran and caudatan hosts. A redescription of Gorgoderina attenuata (Stafford, 1902) Stafford, 1905 is based on new collections from 6 species of anurans from Arkansas, Nebraska, New York, and Wisconsin. Morphological comparisons between gravid G. attenuata recovered from bullfrogs and northern leopard frogs indicated statistically significant differences in 11 of 28 morphological characters examined. However, there was overlap among all of these …

Alternative Life Cycle Strategies And Colonization Of Young Anurans By Gorgoderina Attenuata In Nebraska, Matthew G. Bolek, Scott D. Snyder, John J. Janovy Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

Studies on life cycles and epizootiology of North American frog bladder flukes indicate that adult frogs become infected predominantly by ingesting tadpoles or other frogs that serve as second intermediate hosts for gorgoderid metacercariae. Other studies have indicated that newly metamorphosed frogs are rarely infected with these parasites because they are gape-limited predators that cannot feed on large intermediate hosts such as tadpoles and other frogs. We examined the role of potential intermediate hosts in the recruitment of the frog bladder fluke, Gorgoderina attenuata, to metamorphosed northern leopard frogs, Woodhouse’s toads, and bullfrogs from western Nebraska. We completed the …

Evolutionary Constraints On Population Structure: The Parasites Of Fundulus Zebrinus (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) In The South Platte River Of Nebraska, John J. Janovy Jr., Scott D. Snyder, Richard E. Clopton

Biology Faculty Publications

Population and community descriptor values (parasites per host, prevalence per parasite species, variance/mean ratios, species density, and diversity indices) for the 7-species parasite community of 61 relatively homogeneous samples of Fundulus zebrinus (Pisces: Cyprinodontidae) in the South Platte River of Nebraska, U.S.A., taken over a 14-yr period, are reported. South Platte River streamflow fluctuates over two orders of magnitude on several time scales-monthly, annually, and over multiple year wet-dry cycles. Relatively homogeneous sampling of a single host species with several parasite species provided a system that allowed assessment of the contribution of evolved parasite life cycles to population structure in …

Behavioral Basis Of Second Intermediate Host Specificity Among Four Species Of Haematoloechus (Digenea: Haematoloechidae), Scott D. Snyder, John J. Janovy Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

Cercarial behavior patterns were examined in four species of frog lung flukes (Haematoloechus spp.). Cercariae of Haematoloechus complexus, Haematoloechus medioplexus, Haematoloechus longiplexus, and Haematoloechus varioplexus were exposed to three species of experimental arthropods and an inanimate control. The number of cercariae attached to an experimental host at 5 min postexposure was recorded. Haematoloechus longiplexus and H. complexus cercariae attached to experimental hosts at higher rates than cercariae of H. medioplexus and H. varioplexus. Cercariae of H. longiplexus attached to experimental hosts in approximately the same numbers as H. complexus, but H. longiplexus penetrated only damselfly naiads, …

Second Intermediate Host-Specificity Of Haematoloechus Complexus And Haematoloechus Medioplexus (Digenea: Haematoloechidae), Scott D. Snyder, John J. Janovy

Biology Faculty Publications

Second intermediate host-specificity was examined for two species of the frog lung fluke genus Haematoloechus. Nine species of freshwater arthropods were exposed to cercariae of H. complexus and H. medioplexus. Metacercariae of H. complexus developed in all arthropod species used. Metacercariae of H. medioplexus developed only in anisopteran odonate naiads. This difference in host utilization may have epizootiological implications. The potential development of H. complexus in a greater number of arthropods than H. medioplexus may increase the chances of ingestion of H. complexus by an anuran host. The range of arthropods parasitized by H. complexus indicates that host-specificity …