Rapid evolution of microbe-mediated protection against pathogens in a worm host.

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

Creativity, craft and Christmas: Textual negotiations and the politics of Kirstie’s Crafty Christmas

In April 2013 the United Kingdom’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport announced plans to remove ‘craft’ from the list of recognized creative industries, initially claiming that craft occupations have more to do with technical skill than creativity. Concerns were immediately raised within the craft sector that such changes would cause a shift in the symbolic meaning of craft that would in turn devalue the industry and render its workers invisible. Yet precisely at the moment in which visibility was thought to be at risk, the craft sector was experiencing global hypervisibility within mainstream and online media spaces. This article examines the precise nature of this media visibility at a time of political uncertainty and contends that an investigation into the symbolic meaning of craft cannot overlook the importance of representational culture. Consequently, media studies offers a unique lens through which to examine the politics of craft and contribute meaningful responses to the following questions: how is the meaning of craft articulated in the symbolic environment at a time of political contestation? What is the role of gender in the mediated representation of craftwork? These questions inform the analysis of a specific example of representational culture: Kirstie’s Crafty Christmas (2013). This one-off episode documents Allsopp’s attempts to source handmade gifts and decorations from UK craft workers and enables the concerns above to be raised within a very specific context: the Christmas festival. Both craft and festive rituals blur boundaries between work/leisure and public/private in similar ways, which in the case of craft becomes problematic for policy-makers. In the case of Kirstie’s Crafty Christmas, this blurring of boundaries promotes problematic (gendered) hierarchies that position the work of micro-entrepreneurs as necessary, domestic unpaid labour and in so doing, privatize and deskill women’s home-based creative work

Coexisting cryptic species of the Litoditis marina complex (Nematoda) show differential resource use and have distinct microbiomes with high intraspecific variability

Differences in resource use or in tolerances to abiotic conditions are often invoked as potential mechanisms underlying the sympatric distribution of cryptic species. Additionally, the microbiome can provide physiological adaptations of the host to environmental conditions. We determined the intra-and interspecific variability of the microbiomes of three cryptic nematode species of the Litoditis marina species complex that co-occur, but show differences in abiotic tolerances. Roche 454 pyrosequencing of the microbial 16S rRNA gene revealed distinct bacterial communities characterized by a substantial diversity (85-513 OTUs) and many rare OTUs. The core microbiome of each species contained only very few OTUs (2-6), and four OTUs were identified as potentially generating tolerance to abiotic conditions. A controlled experiment in which nematodes from two cryptic species (Pm1 and Pm3) were fed with either an E. coli suspension or a bacterial mix was performed, and the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced using the MiSeq technology. OTU richness was 10-fold higher compared to the 454 data set and ranged between 1118 and 7864. This experiment confirmed the existence of species-specific microbiomes, a core microbiome with few OTUs, and high interindividual variability. The offered food source affected the bacterial community and illustrated different feeding behaviour between the cryptic species, with Pm3 exhibiting a higher degree of selective feeding than Pm1. Morphologically similar species belonging to the same feeding guild (bacterivores) can thus have substantial differences in their associated microbiomes and feeding strategy, which in turn may have important ramifications for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships

Probiotic<i> Bacillus subtilis</i> protects against α-synuclein aggregation in <i>C. elegans</i>

How the gut microbiome affects Parkinson's disease remains unclear. Goya et al. show that the probiotic B. subtilis strain PXN21 inhibits and clears α-synuclein aggregation in a C. elegans model. The bacterium acts via metabolites and biofilm formation to activate protective pathways in the host, including DAF-16/FOXO and sphingolipid metabolism.Fil: Goya, María Eugenia. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Xue, Feng. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Sampedro Torres Quevedo, Cristina. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Arnaouteli, Sofia. University Of Dundee; Reino UnidoFil: Riquelme Dominguez, Lourdes. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Romanowski, Andrés. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unido. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Brydon, Jack. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Ball, Kathryn L.. University of Edinburgh; Reino UnidoFil: Stanley-Wall, Nicola R.. University Of Dundee; Reino UnidoFil: Doitsidou, Maria. University of Edinburgh; Reino Unid

Fermentable Non-Digestible Dietary Fiber and Bioactive Compounds Affect Aging and Fat Deposition in Caenorhabditis elegans

Overweight and obesity have been imposing $147 billion a year to the health care system in the United States. Limited medications are available in the market with side effects. Surgical treatments are second-line obesity treatments. Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced from the fermentable resistant starch improves the secretion of satiety hormones peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) from L-endocrine cells of cecum and colon. We hypothesized that consumption of fermentable non-digestible dietary fiber and bioactive compounds will increase insulin sensitivity, reduce body fat, and improve healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), and hyperglycemia (2% glucose) that may cause insulin resistance and impair lipid metabolism will attenuate these effects. Wild type C. elegans N2 or sir-2.1(ok434)IV, daf-16(mgDf50)I, and daf-16(mgDf50)I;daf-2(m65)III mutants were used. The control animals were fed with E. coli OP50. Experimental groups were fed with additional treatments: butyrate (0.3mM, 0.6mM), sodium acetate (5mM, 50mM), sodium propionate (7mM), or tributyrin (0.5mM, 3mM); PWB, oats or wheat bran (0.5%, 1.0%, or 3.0% w/v) with or without additional 2% glucose. SCFAs increased the lifespan of N2 and daf-16(mgDf50)I, but reduced lifespan in the daf-16/daf-2 deficient and sir-2.1(ok434)IV mutants. PWB or wheat bran sustained the pharyngeal pumping rate (PPR) in N2, sir-2.1(ok434)IV, daf-16(mgDf50)I, and daf-16(mgDf50)I;daf-2(m65)III. The N2, daf-16, or sir-2.1 mutant increased the PPR following oat consumption. This increase persisted in the presence of glucose at a low dose in daf-16 or daf-16/daf-2 mutant. The Nile red stained intestinal fat deposition (IFD) was reduced by butyrate (0.3, 0.6mM), acetate (100mM), propionate (0.3mM), and tributyrin (0.1, 1mM) in N2; and was increased in sir-2.1 mutant. PWB reduced IFD in N2, sir-2.1 or daf-16 mutants. Hyperglycaemia attenuated the effects on IFD in N2 or daf-16/daf-2 mutant. Oat-feeding decreased IFD in N2, and daf-16 or daf-16/daf-2 mutant with or without hyperglycaemia. Wheat bran reduced IFD in N2, and in daf-16 or daf-16/daf-2 mutants without hyperglycemia, while hyperglycemia increased IFD in sir-2.1(ok434)IV. In summary, PWB, oats, wheat bran, and SCFAs reduced the IFD and improved the healthspan in C. elegans, and these effects were mediated by the sir-2.1, daf-2, or daf-2/daf-16 pathways

Examination of SAVE marketing mix situation in public libraries of Tehran

The present study was conducted to determine the rate of usage of SAVE marketing mix components in public libraries of Tehran.The research method is descriptive survey. The statistical population of the study consisted of 33 libraries of public libraries affiliated with the public libraries of Tehran city which have been studied by census method.In order to analyze the data, SPSS software descriptive statistics (frequency distribution, relative percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential (t singlesample) was used. The findings of the study showed that the general libraries of Tehran were weak in terms of all components of the SAVE marketing mix.Also, it was revealed that the public libraries of Tehran city are not in the same position in terms of the application of SAVE marketing mix components, so that the components of solution and training with averages less than optimal (3) equal to (2.93 and 2.85) respectively had the least rate of usage, and the components of access and value with averages greater than the optimal (3) equal to (3.65 and 3.18), respectively, had the most rate of usage

Health and longevity studies in C. elegans: the ‘‘healthy worm database’’ reveals strengths, weaknesses and gaps of test compound-based studies

Several biogerontology databases exist that focus on genetic or gene expression data linked to health as well as survival, subsequent to compound treatments or genetic manipulations in animal models. However, none of these has yet collected experimental results of compound-related health changes. Since quality of life is often regarded as more valuable than length of life, we aim to fill this gap with the ‘‘Healthy Worm Database’’ (http://healthy-worm-database.eu). Literature describing health-related compound studies in the aging model Caenorhabditis elegans was screened, and data for 440 compounds collected. The database considers 189 publications describing 89 different phenotypes measured in 2995 different conditions. Besides enabling a targeted search for promising compounds for further investigations, this database also offers insights into the research field of studies on healthy aging based on a frequently used model organism. Some weaknesses of C. elegansbased aging studies, like underrepresented phenotypes, especially concerning cognitive functions, as well as the convenience-based use of young worms as the starting point for compound treatment or phenotype measurement are discussed. In conclusion, the database provides an anchor for the search for compounds affecting health, with a link to public databases, and it further highlights some potential shortcomings in current aging research.Peer Reviewe

Interaction between host, microbiota, diet and drugs in C. elegans and E. coli

The microbiota regulates many aspects of human health. However, despite great advances in its research, it has proven hard to establish the causal relationship between the effects of the microbiota, drugs and diet on the host physiology. This thesis encompasses the first systematic study of an anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil and antidiabetic drug metformin in terms of their interactions with bacterial metabolism and diet. Metformin and 5-fluorouracil are chemically and pharmacologically distinct drugs which interact with the microbiota via different mechanisms. We have developed novel high-throughput screening approaches and applied multi-omics and computational systems biology methods to elucidate the interplay of multiple factors regulating efficacy of these drugs in the C. elegans and E. coli host-bacteria model. We show that bacteria can either enhance or suppress the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil through direct drug conversion, which depends on bacterial vitamin B6, B9, and ribonucleotide metabolism, as well as through disturbances in bacterial deoxyribonucleotide pools. Importantly, we have discovered a novel drug-bacteria interaction mechanism. We show that metformin's effects are controlled by the bacterial nutrient sensing transcription factor Crp and notably regulated by diet. Crp activation in metformin treatment rewires bacterial metabolism and leads to agmatine accumulation, which we identified as the key metabolic link between metformin's effects on the bacteria and the host. We also describe metformin induced bacterial phenotype changes, which may explain some of its effects on the gut microbiota and document metformin resistance mechanisms and its possible targets in bacteria. Overall, our findings reveal a key role of bacteria in integrating environmental factors such as drugs and diet to regulate host physiology. Our study establishes an experimental platform for further investigation of complex host-microbe-drug-diet interactions in animal models and highlights the possibility of modulating the microbiota for host health benefits