Project Details
Projekt
Host immunological control of the gut microbiota during pupation
Applicant
Professor Dr. Michael T. Monaghan, since 9/2023
Subject Area
Evolution, Anthropology
Term
since 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 425876005
Immune effectors are best studied as defenses induced by microbial infections. However beyond simple immune defense they also play important roles in the regulation of host-microbe interactions. We will investigate how immune effectors can be repurposed for regulation of the gut microbiota during metamorphosis without compromising their utility as canonical immune defences by selecting for bacterial resistance. We will use the wax moth Galleria mellonella, which has a well characterized immune gene repertoire and is the basis of our established model of metamorphic gut immunity. Specifically, we will use RNAi knockdown to manipulate the number of immune effectors expressed in the metamorphic gut in order to (i) quantify the rate of bacterial resistance evolution towards combinations of up to 4 immune effectors, (ii) identify the underlying mechanisms of bacterial resistance and quantify their effects on resistance, cross-resistance, and collateral sensitivity, (iii) quantify the fitness costs of resistance evolution both in vitro and in vivo, and in the presence and absence of the gut microbiota. Thus we will test the hypothesis that the complexity of metamorphic gut immunity has evolved to exploit a combination of functionally distinct immune effectors that minimize the probability of resistance emergence in the presence of the gut microbiota. The results will show how the host is able to replace and recycle the midgut while simultaneously controlling the resident microbiota, a challenge posed by the evolution of complete metamorphosis and thus faced by all holometabolous insects.
DFG Programme
Research Units
Co-Investigator
Professor Dr. Jens Rolff
Ehemaliger Antragsteller
Dr. Paul Johnston, until 9/2023
