Caenorhabditis elegans pgp-5 is involved in resistance to bacterial infection and heavy metal and its regulation requires TIR-1 and a p38 map kinase cascade.
Animals and plants respond to bacterial infections and environmental stresses by inducing overlapping repertoires of defense genes. How the signals associated with infection and abiotic stresses are differentially integrated within a whole organism remains to be fully addressed. We show that the transcription of a Caenorhabditis elegans ABC transporter, pgp-5 is induced by both bacterial infection and heavy metal stress, but the magnitude and tissue distribution of its expression differs, depending on the type of stressor. PGP-5 contributes to resistance to bacterial infection and heavy metals. Using pgp-5 transcription as a read-out, we show that signals from both biotic and abiotic stresses are integrated by TIR-1, a TIR domain adaptor protein orthologous to human SARM, and a p38 MAP kinase signaling cassette. We further demonstrate that not all the TIR-1 isoforms are necessary for nematode resistance to infection, suggesting a molecular basis for the differential response to abiotic and biotic stress.
Kurz
C Léopold
CL
Department of Genetics and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, M337 Always Building, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5120, USA.
Shapira
Michael
M
Chen
Karen
K
Baillie
David L
DL
Tan
Man-Wah
MW
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000494:pharmacology; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000276:immunology*
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C459579:EhPgp5 protein, Entamoeba histolytica; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; C485906:tir-1 protein, C elegans; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases