Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity
Most species are either parasites or exploited by parasites, making parasite–host interactions a driver of evolution. Parasites with complex life cycles often evolve strategies to facilitate transmission to the definitive host by manipulating their intermediate host. Such manipulations could explain...
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doaj-ad55dddcf7ec477bb2e29af568f4c5d92021-01-14T00:04:45ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252021-01-0112959510.3390/genes12010095Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and LongevityMarah Stoldt0Linda Klein1Sara Beros2Falk Butter3Evelien Jongepier4Barbara Feldmeyer5Susanne Foitzik6Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55128 Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMax Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing, 50931 Cologne, GermanyInstitute for Molecular Biology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55128 Mainz, GermanyInstitute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, GermanySenckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center (SBiK-F), Molecular Ecology, 60325 Frankfurt, GermanyInstitute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55128 Mainz, GermanyMost species are either parasites or exploited by parasites, making parasite–host interactions a driver of evolution. Parasites with complex life cycles often evolve strategies to facilitate transmission to the definitive host by manipulating their intermediate host. Such manipulations could explain phenotypic changes in the ant <i>Temnothorax nylanderi</i>, the intermediate host of the cestode <i>Anomotaenia brevis</i>. In addition to behavioral and morphological alterations, infected workers exhibit prolonged lifespans, comparable to that of queens, which live up to two decades. We used transcriptomic data from cestodes and ants of different castes and infection status to investigate the molecular underpinnings of phenotypic alterations in infected workers and explored whether the extended lifespan of queens and infected workers has a common molecular basis. Infected workers and queens commonly upregulated only six genes, one of them with a known anti-aging function. Both groups overexpressed immune genes, although not the same ones. Our findings suggest that the lifespan extension of infected workers is not achieved via the expression of queen-specific genes. The analysis of the cestodes’ transcriptome revealed dominant expression of genes of the mitochondrial respiratory transport chain, which indicates an active metabolism and shedding light on the physiology of the parasite in its cysticercoid stage.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/12/1/95host lifespantranscriptomicshost–parasite interaction<i>Temnothorax nylanderi</i><i>Anomotaenia brevis</i>extended phenotype |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Marah Stoldt Linda Klein Sara Beros Falk Butter Evelien Jongepier Barbara Feldmeyer Susanne Foitzik |
spellingShingle |
Marah Stoldt Linda Klein Sara Beros Falk Butter Evelien Jongepier Barbara Feldmeyer Susanne Foitzik Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity Genes host lifespan transcriptomics host–parasite interaction <i>Temnothorax nylanderi</i> <i>Anomotaenia brevis</i> extended phenotype |
author_facet |
Marah Stoldt Linda Klein Sara Beros Falk Butter Evelien Jongepier Barbara Feldmeyer Susanne Foitzik |
author_sort |
Marah Stoldt |
title |
Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity |
title_short |
Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity |
title_full |
Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity |
title_fullStr |
Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Parasite Presence Induces Gene Expression Changes in an Ant Host Related to Immunity and Longevity |
title_sort |
parasite presence induces gene expression changes in an ant host related to immunity and longevity |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Genes |
issn |
2073-4425 |
publishDate |
2021-01-01 |
description |
Most species are either parasites or exploited by parasites, making parasite–host interactions a driver of evolution. Parasites with complex life cycles often evolve strategies to facilitate transmission to the definitive host by manipulating their intermediate host. Such manipulations could explain phenotypic changes in the ant <i>Temnothorax nylanderi</i>, the intermediate host of the cestode <i>Anomotaenia brevis</i>. In addition to behavioral and morphological alterations, infected workers exhibit prolonged lifespans, comparable to that of queens, which live up to two decades. We used transcriptomic data from cestodes and ants of different castes and infection status to investigate the molecular underpinnings of phenotypic alterations in infected workers and explored whether the extended lifespan of queens and infected workers has a common molecular basis. Infected workers and queens commonly upregulated only six genes, one of them with a known anti-aging function. Both groups overexpressed immune genes, although not the same ones. Our findings suggest that the lifespan extension of infected workers is not achieved via the expression of queen-specific genes. The analysis of the cestodes’ transcriptome revealed dominant expression of genes of the mitochondrial respiratory transport chain, which indicates an active metabolism and shedding light on the physiology of the parasite in its cysticercoid stage. |
topic |
host lifespan transcriptomics host–parasite interaction <i>Temnothorax nylanderi</i> <i>Anomotaenia brevis</i> extended phenotype |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/12/1/95 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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