Header menu link for other important links
X

Salmonella biofilms program innate immunity for persistence in Caenorhabditis elegans

Desai, S.K, , Sharvari Harshe, Ronen Zaidel-Bar, Linda J. Kenney
Published in National Academy of Sciences
2019
Volume: 116
   
Issue: 25
Pages: 12462 - 12467
Abstract

The adaptive in vivo mechanisms underlying the switch in Salmonella enterica lifestyles from the infectious form to a dormant form remain unknown. We employed Caenorhabditis elegans as a heterologous host to understand the temporal dynamics of Salmonella pathogenesis and to identify its lifestyle form in vivo. We discovered that Salmonella exists as sessile aggregates, or in vivo biofilms, in the persistently infected C. elegans gut. In the absence of in vivo biofilms, Salmonella killed the host more rapidly by actively inhibiting innate immune pathways. Regulatory crosstalk between two major Salmonella pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2, was responsible for biofilm-induced changes in host physiology during persistent infection. Thus, biofilm formation is a survival strategy in long-term infections, as prolonging host survival is beneficial for the parasitic lifestyle. © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

About the journal
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
PublisherNational Academy of Sciences
Open AccessYes