Journal article
Rapid evolution of microbe-mediated protection in a worm host
- Abstract:
- Microbes can defend their host against virulent infections, but direct evidence for the adaptive origin of microbe-mediated protection is lacking. Using experimental evolution of a novel, tripartite interaction, we demonstrate that mildly pathogenic bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis) living in worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) rapidly evolved to defend their animal hosts against infection by a more virulent pathogen (Staphylococcus aureus), crossing the parasitism-mutualism continuum. Host protection evolved in all six, independently selected populations in response to within-host bacterial interactions and without direct selection for host health. Microbe-mediated protection was also effective against a broad spectrum of pathogenic S. aureus isolates. Genomic analysis implied that the mechanistic basis for E. faecalis-mediated protection was through increased production of antimicrobial superoxide, which was confirmed by biochemical assays. Our results indicate that microbes living within a host may make the evolutionary transition to mutualism in response to pathogen attack, and that microbiome evolution warrants consideration as a driver of infection outcome.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 103.2KB, Terms of use)
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 256.9KB, Terms of use)
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 256.9KB, Terms of use)
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 263.7KB, Terms of use)
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(Preview, Accepted manuscript, pdf, 140.5KB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1038/ismej.2015.259
Authors
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Journal:
- ISME Journal More from this journal
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 2016
- Pages:
- 1915-1924
- Publication date:
- 2016-03-15
- Acceptance date:
- 2015-12-01
- DOI:
- ISSN:
-
1751-7370
- Pubs id:
-
pubs:606786
- UUID:
-
uuid:e395223d-465d-403a-8ea6-c2c30908675f
- Local pid:
-
pubs:606786
- Source identifiers:
-
606786
- Deposit date:
-
2016-02-29
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- King et al
- Copyright date:
- 2016
- Notes:
- © The Author(s) 2019. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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