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Host-Microbe Interaction 2019

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 29821

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies/Department of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Apdo. 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: biocontrol; nematophagous fungi; entomopathogenic fungi; chitosan; plant pathology; endophytes; fungal "omics"
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E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Multidisciplinary Institute for Environmental Studies/Department of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, Apdo. 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain
Interests: new antimicrobial compounds as a solution for emerging diseases; chitosan and natural biopolymers with properties against human pathogenic filamentous fungi and yeast
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a follow-up of the last "Host-Microbe Interaction"; Special Issue. We would like to introduce, in this new issue, the multiscale and dynamic nature of ecosystems. Therefore, we envisage a focus on multitrophic microbial interactions of diverse biological outcome (pathogenesis, mutualism, etc.) with hosts of pluricelular or unicelular natures. The concept of the microbiome will be pursued and scientific contributions on microbial interactions of importance in ecology (habitat conservation and human impact), agro-food (food security), medical, and industrial activities are all welcome. All original or review articles should include hard data on the role of molecules (-omics) in these multitrophic interactions. We also encourage work on sequencing technologies and bioinformatics applied to the study of microbe interactomics. The role of new developments in microbe interactions in system biology is also a key issue.

Prof. Dr. Luis V. Lopez-Llorca
Dr. Federico Lopez-Moya
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Secretome
  • host response
  • attenuation of pathogenesis
  • biocontrol
  • coevolution
  • horizontal gene transfer
  • Interactomics
  • Systems Biology

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2510 KiB  
Article
TmAtg6 Plays an Important Role in Anti-Microbial Defense Against Listeria monocytogenes in the Mealworm, Tenebrio molitor
by Tariku Tesfaye Edosa, Yong Hun Jo, Maryam Keshavarz, Ki Beom Park, Jun Ho Cho, Young Min Bae, Bobae Kim, Yong Seok Lee and Yeon Soo Han
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(4), 1232; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21041232 - 12 Feb 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2391
Abstract
Autophagy-related gene-6 (Beclin-1 in mammals) plays a pivotal role in autophagy and is involved in autophagosome formation and autolysosome maturation. In this study, we identified and characterized the autophagy-related gene-6 from Tenebrio molitor (TmAtg6) and analyzed its functional role in the [...] Read more.
Autophagy-related gene-6 (Beclin-1 in mammals) plays a pivotal role in autophagy and is involved in autophagosome formation and autolysosome maturation. In this study, we identified and characterized the autophagy-related gene-6 from Tenebrio molitor (TmAtg6) and analyzed its functional role in the survival of the insect against infection. The expression of TmAtg6 was studied using qRT-PCR for the assessment of the transcript levels at various developmental stages in the different tissues. The results showed that TmAtg6 was highly expressed at the 6-day-old pupal stage. Tissue-specific expression studies revealed that TmAtg6 was highly expressed in the hemocytes of late larvae. The induction patterns of TmAtg6 in different tissues of T. molitor larvae were analyzed by injecting Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, or Candida albicans. The intracellular Gram-positive bacteria, L. monocytogenes, solely induced the expression of TmAtg6 in hemocytes at 9 h-post-injection, whilst in the fat body and gut, bimodal expression times were observed. RNAi-mediated knockdown of the TmAtg6 transcripts, followed by a challenge with microbes, showed a significant reduction in larval survival rate against L. monocytogenes. Taken together, our results suggest that TmAtg6 plays an essential role in anti-microbial defense against intracellular bacteria. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2019)
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16 pages, 2385 KiB  
Article
Biofilms Positively Contribute to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 54-induced Drought Tolerance in Tomato Plants
by Da-Cheng Wang, Chun-Hao Jiang, Li-Na Zhang, Lin Chen, Xiao-Yun Zhang and Jian-Hua Guo
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(24), 6271; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20246271 - 12 Dec 2019
Cited by 60 | Viewed by 6374
Abstract
Drought stress is a major obstacle to agriculture. Although many studies have reported on plant drought tolerance achieved via genetic modification, application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to achieve tolerance has rarely been studied. In this study, the ability of three isolates, including [...] Read more.
Drought stress is a major obstacle to agriculture. Although many studies have reported on plant drought tolerance achieved via genetic modification, application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to achieve tolerance has rarely been studied. In this study, the ability of three isolates, including Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 54, from 30 potential PGPR to induce drought tolerance in tomato plants was examined via greenhouse screening. The results indicated that B. amyloliquefaciens 54 significantly enhanced drought tolerance by increasing survival rate, relative water content and root vigor. Coordinated changes were also observed in cellular defense responses, including decreased concentration of malondialdehyde and elevated concentration of antioxidant enzyme activities. Moreover, expression levels of stress-responsive genes, such as lea, tdi65, and ltpg2, increased in B. amyloliquefaciens 54-treated plants. In addition, B. amyloliquefaciens 54 induced stomatal closure through an abscisic acid-regulated pathway. Furthermore, we constructed biofilm formation mutants and determined the role of biofilm formation in B. amyloliquefaciens 54-induced drought tolerance. The results showed that biofilm-forming ability was positively correlated with plant root colonization. Moreover, plants inoculated with hyper-robust biofilm (ΔabrB and ΔywcC) mutants were better able to resist drought stress, while defective biofilm (ΔepsA-O and ΔtasA) mutants were more vulnerable to drought stress. Taken altogether, these results suggest that biofilm formation is crucial to B. amyloliquefaciens 54 root colonization and drought tolerance in tomato plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2019)
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17 pages, 2830 KiB  
Article
YaeB, Expressed in Response to the Acidic pH in Macrophages, Promotes Intracellular Replication and Virulence of Salmonella Typhimurium
by Huan Zhang, Xiaorui Song, Peisheng Wang, Runxia Lv, Shuangshuang Ma and Lingyan Jiang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(18), 4339; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20184339 - 4 Sep 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3894
Abstract
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a facultative intracellular pathogen that infects humans and animals. Survival and growth in host macrophages represents a crucial step for S. Typhimurium virulence. Many genes that are essential for S. Typhimurium proliferation in macrophages and associated [...] Read more.
Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a facultative intracellular pathogen that infects humans and animals. Survival and growth in host macrophages represents a crucial step for S. Typhimurium virulence. Many genes that are essential for S. Typhimurium proliferation in macrophages and associated with virulence are highly expressed during the intracellular lifecycle. yaeB, which encodes an RNA methyltransferase, is also upregulated during S. Typhimurium growth in macrophages. However, the involvement of YaeB in S. Typhimurium pathogenicity is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of YaeB in S. Typhimurium virulence. Deletion of yaeB significantly impaired S. Typhimurium growth in macrophages and virulence in mice. The effect of yaeB on pathogenicity was related to its activation of pstSCAB, a phosphate (Pi)-specific transport system that is verified here to be important for bacterial replication and virulence. Moreover, qRT-PCR data showed YaeB was induced by the acidic pH inside macrophages, and the acidic pH passed to YeaB through inhibiting global regulator histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) which confirmed in this study can repress the expression of yaeB. Overall, these findings identified a new virulence regulatory network involving yaeB and provided valuable insights to the mechanisms through which acidic pH and low Pi regulate virulence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2019)
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26 pages, 6342 KiB  
Article
Changes in the Soil Microbiome in Eggplant Monoculture Revealed by High-Throughput Illumina MiSeq Sequencing as Influenced by Raw Garlic Stalk Amendment
by Muhammad Imran Ghani, Ahmad Ali, Muhammad Jawaad Atif, Muhammad Ali, Bakht Amin, Muhammad Anees, Haris Khurshid and Zhihui Cheng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(9), 2125; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20092125 - 29 Apr 2019
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5103
Abstract
The incorporation of plant residues into soil can be considered a keystone sustainability factor in improving soil structure function. However, the effects of plant residue addition on the soil microbial communities involved in biochemical cycles and abiotic stress phenomena are poorly understood. In [...] Read more.
The incorporation of plant residues into soil can be considered a keystone sustainability factor in improving soil structure function. However, the effects of plant residue addition on the soil microbial communities involved in biochemical cycles and abiotic stress phenomena are poorly understood. In this study, experiments were conducted to evaluate the role of raw garlic stalk (RGS) amendment in avoiding monoculture-related production constraints by studying the changes in soil chemical properties and microbial community structures. RGS was applied in four different doses, namely the control (RGS0), 1% (RGS1), 3% (RGS2), and 5% (RGS3) per 100 g of soil. The RGS amendment significantly increased soil electrical conductivity (EC), N, P, K, and enzyme activity. The soil pH significantly decreased with RGS application. High-throughput Illumina MiSeq sequencing revealed significant alterations in bacterial community structures in response to RGS application. Among the 23 major taxa detected, Anaerolineaceae, Acidobacteria, and Cyanobacteria exhibited an increased abundance level. RGS2 increased some bacteria reported to be beneficial including Acidobacteria, Bacillus, and Planctomyces (by 42%, 64%, and 1% respectively). Furthermore, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) fungal regions revealed significant diversity among the different treatments, with taxa such as Chaetomium (56.2%), Acremonium (4.3%), Fusarium (4%), Aspergillus (3.4%), Sordariomycetes (3%), and Plectosphaerellaceae (2%) showing much abundance. Interestingly, Coprinellus (14%) was observed only in RGS-amended soil. RGS treatments effectively altered soil fungal community structures and reduced certain known pathogenic fungal genera, i.e., Fusarium and Acremonium. The results of the present study suggest that RGS amendment potentially affects the microbial community structures that probably affect the physiological and morphological attributes of eggplant under a plastic greenhouse vegetable cultivation system (PGVC) in monoculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2019)
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Review

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13 pages, 1405 KiB  
Review
The Roles of MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in Avian Response to Viral Infection and Pathogenesis of Avian Immunosuppressive Diseases
by Linyi Zhou and Shijun J. Zheng
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5454; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215454 - 1 Nov 2019
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4153
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding small RNAs that play important roles in the regulation of various biological processes including cell development and differentiation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, immunoregulation and viral infections. Avian immunosuppressive diseases refer to those avian diseases caused by pathogens that [...] Read more.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding small RNAs that play important roles in the regulation of various biological processes including cell development and differentiation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, immunoregulation and viral infections. Avian immunosuppressive diseases refer to those avian diseases caused by pathogens that target and damage the immune organs or cells of the host, increasing susceptibility to other microbial infections and the risk of failure in subsequent vaccination against other diseases. As such, once a disease with an immunosuppressive feature occurs in flocks, it would be difficult for the stakeholders to have an optimal economic income. Infectious bursal disease (IBD), avian leukemia (AL), Marek’s disease (MD), chicken infectious anemia (CIA), reticuloendotheliosis (RE) and avian reovirus infection are on the top list of commonly-seen avian diseases with a feature of immunosuppression, posing an unmeasurable threat to the poultry industry across the globe. Understanding the pathogenesis of avian immunosuppressive disease is the basis for disease prevention and control. miRNAs have been shown to be involved in host response to pathogenic infections in chickens, including regulation of immunity, tumorigenesis, cell proliferation and viral replication. Here we summarize current knowledge on the roles of miRNAs in avian response to viral infection and pathogenesis of avian immunosuppressive diseases, in particular, MD, AL, IBD and RE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2019)
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26 pages, 2232 KiB  
Review
Microbial Metabolites Determine Host Health and the Status of Some Diseases
by Panida Sittipo, Jae-won Shim and Yun Kyung Lee
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5296; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20215296 - 24 Oct 2019
Cited by 86 | Viewed by 7288
Abstract
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a highly complex organ composed of the intestinal epithelium layer, intestinal microbiota, and local immune system. Intestinal microbiota residing in the GI tract engages in a mutualistic relationship with the host. Different sections of the GI tract contain [...] Read more.
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a highly complex organ composed of the intestinal epithelium layer, intestinal microbiota, and local immune system. Intestinal microbiota residing in the GI tract engages in a mutualistic relationship with the host. Different sections of the GI tract contain distinct proportions of the intestinal microbiota, resulting in the presence of unique bacterial products in each GI section. The intestinal microbiota converts ingested nutrients into metabolites that target either the intestinal microbiota population or host cells. Metabolites act as messengers of information between the intestinal microbiota and host cells. The intestinal microbiota composition and resulting metabolites thus impact host development, health, and pathogenesis. Many recent studies have focused on modulation of the gut microbiota and their metabolites to improve host health and prevent or treat diseases. In this review, we focus on the production of microbial metabolites, their biological impact on the intestinal microbiota composition and host cells, and the effect of microbial metabolites that contribute to improvements in inflammatory bowel diseases and metabolic diseases. Understanding the role of microbial metabolites in protection against disease might offer an intriguing approach to regulate disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host-Microbe Interaction 2019)
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