Steinernema nematodes as an emerging genetic model to study microbial symbiosis
Microbiology Seminar Series
- Date: May 2, 2024
- Time: 01:15 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Dr. Mengyi Cao
- Division of Biosphere Sciences and Engineering, Carnegie Institution for Science, Pasadena, USA
- Location: MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology
- Room: Hörsaal / Hybrid
- Host: Prof. Dr. Helge Bode
- Contact: helge.bode@mpi-marburg.mpg.de
The associations between nematodes of Steinernema spp. and their mutualistic bacteria in the genus Xenorhabdus have been established as models and have great potential for agriculture. Our RNA-seq experiment revealed that nematodes significantly modulated their transcriptomes when exposed to symbiotic bacteria. To investigate the function of conserved and unique genes in Steinernema, we developed genetic tools. I will discuss our current study of a conserved gene in S. hermaphroditum, Sh-daf-22, which showed previously unexplored functions in symbiosis. Since Sh-daf-22 is significant in regulating nematode metabolomics, our study will potentially reveal novel pathways in host-microbe chemical signaling.