Gene expression in Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii identifies shared and microbe-specific induction of immune genes.
C H McKennaD AsgariT L CrippenL ZhengR A ShermanJ K TomberlinRichard P MeiselA M TaronePublished in: Insect molecular biology (2021)
Antibiotic resistance is a continuing challenge in medicine. There are various strategies for expanding antibiotic therapeutic repertoires, including the use of blow flies. Their larvae exhibit strong antibiotic and antibiofilm properties that alter microbiome communities. One species, Lucilia sericata, is used to treat problematic wounds due to its debridement capabilities and its excretions and secretions that kill some pathogenic bacteria. There is much to be learned about how L. sericata interacts with microbiomes at the molecular level. To address this deficiency, gene expression was assessed after feeding exposure (1 h or 4 h) to two clinically problematic pathogens: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. The results identified immunity-related genes that were differentially expressed when exposed to these pathogens, as well as non-immune genes possibly involved in gut responses to bacterial infection. There was a greater response to P. aeruginosa that increased over time, while few genes responded to A. baumannii exposure, and expression was not time-dependent. The response to feeding on pathogens indicates a few common responses and features distinct to each pathogen, which is useful in improving the wound debridement therapy and helps to develop biomimetic alternatives.
Keyphrases
- acinetobacter baumannii
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- gene expression
- multidrug resistant
- gram negative
- genome wide
- drug resistant
- dna methylation
- cystic fibrosis
- biofilm formation
- bioinformatics analysis
- genome wide identification
- drosophila melanogaster
- poor prognosis
- escherichia coli
- genome wide analysis
- binding protein
- stem cells
- aedes aegypti
- smoking cessation
- replacement therapy
- mesenchymal stem cells
- tissue engineering