The role of c-di-GMP in symbiotic Pseudomonas - C. elegans associations

Microbe-host associations, so-called metaorganisms, are ubiquitous on Earth. Today, research on metaorganisms is often guided by a host-centered view and focuses on how the host is affected by the microbes. However, less is known about how symbiotic bacteria optimize their fitness during the interaction with a host and how they adapt to the host association, especially at the molecular level. With this work, I aim to develop a deeper understanding of how bacteria adapt to association with a host, with a focus on genetic regulation during adaptation. To this end, I have studied Pseusomonas lurida MYb11, an occasional symbiont of natural Caenorhabditis elegans populations, and its host C. elegans MY316. In the first part of this work, an evolution experiment with P. lurida and C. elegans led to the emergence of host-specialized bacteria with a wrinkly colony morphology and increased intracellular c-di-GMP. The bacterial messenger c-di-GMP is known to influence the formation of biofilms that promote the persistence of pathogenic bacteria in an animal host. While its role in beneficial host-microbe interactions is less well understood. In this work, Pseudomonads with elevated intracellular c-di-GMP levels inside and outside the C. elegans microbiota were shown to increase host persistence and in vitro biofilm formation. In the second part of this work, transcriptome analysis of P. lurida MYb11 revealed  the important role of the pel gene cluster and in particular the pelD gene for host specialization of P. lurida MYb11 isolates and in vitro biofilm formation. Overall, this work emphasizes the key role of the secondary messenger c-di-GMP and its regulation of biofilm formation in the adaptation of symbiotic bacteria to a host-associated lifestyle beyond pathogenic bacteria-host interactions.

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Zitierform:
Czerwinski, A.L., 2025. The role of c-di-GMP in symbiotic Pseudomonas - C. elegans associations.
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