Enteric helminths promote Salmonella co-infection by altering the intestinal metabolome

Intestinal helminth infections occur pre dominantly in regions where exposure to enteric bacterial pathogens is also common. Helminth infections inhibit host immunity against microbial pathogens, which has largely been attributed to the induction of regulatory or type 2 (Th2) immune responses. Here we demonstrate an additional three-way interaction in which helminth infection alters the metabolic environment of the host intestine to enhance bacterial pathogenicity. We show that an ongoing helminth infection increased colonization by Salmonella independently of T regulatory or Th2 cells. Instead, helminth infection altered the metabolic profile of the intestine, which directly enhanced bacterial expression of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) genes and increased intracellular invasion. These data reveal a novel mechanism by which a helminth-modified metabolome promotes susceptibility to bacterial co-infection

The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project

© 2016 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressuressuch as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction ofalien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or populationtime series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets withbroad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation ofa range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding ofhistorical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe andassess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representingover 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons oflocal-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenicpressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database containsmeasurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35)biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database containsmore than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including floweringplants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopteransand hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, istherefore already considerably larger and more representative than those usedby previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The databaseis being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responsesof Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk).We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full databasewill be publicly available in 2015