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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #382017
Research Project: Ecological Reservoirs and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Foodborne Pathogens in Cattle and Swine

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: Gene expression in Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii identifies shared and microbe-specific induction of immune genes

Author
item MCKENNA, CLAIRE - Texas A&M University
item ASGARI, DANIAL - University Of Houston
item Crippen, Tawni - Tc
item ZHENG, LE - Texas A&M University
item SHERMAN, RONALD - Biotherapeutics, Education & Research (BTER) Foundation
item TOMBERLIN, JEFFERY - Texas A&M University
item MEISEL, RICHARD - University Of Houston
item TARONE, AARON - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Insect Molecular Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/26/2021
Publication Date: 2/1/2022
Citation: Mckenna, C.L., Asgari, D., Crippen, T.L., Zheng, L., Sherman, R.A., Tomberlin, J.K., Meisel, R.P., Tarone, A.M. 2022. Gene expression in Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii identifies shared and microbe-specific induction of immune genes. Insect Molecular Biology. 31(1):85-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12740.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12740

Interpretive Summary: Antibiotic resistance is a continuing challenge to veterinary and human medicine and blow flies are a promising natural system for identifying novel antibiotics. Blow fly larvae have strong antibiotic properties and one species, the common green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata), is a model because of its use in maggot therapy to debride infected wounds, but it is also a common visitor to carrion and manure found in animal production facilities. Its excretions and secretions kill some pathogenic bacteria, but the molecular level mechanisms of this capability are not well defined. We assessed genes that were expressed after exposing the fly larvae to two commonly encountered pathogens that exhibit antibiotic resistance: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii. Animals, such as cattle and swine, can harbor A. baumannii, which is implicated in human infections and P. aeruginosa is a cause of mastitis in dairy cattle. We identified immune related genes that are expressed at different levels when exposed to these pathogens. This information is useful in identifying novel antibiotics by their molecular response to specific pathogen exposure.

Technical Abstract: Antibiotic resistance is a continuing challenge in medicine. There are various strategies for expanding antibiotic therapeutic repertoires, including the use of blow flies. Their larvae exhibit strong antibiotic and antibiofilm properties that alter microbiome communities. One species, Lucilia sericata, is used to treat problematic wounds due to its debridement capabilities and its excretions and secretions that kill some pathogenic. There is much to be learned about how L. sericata interacts with microbiomes at the molecular level. To address this deficiency, gene expression was assessed after feeding exposure (1 hour or 4 hours) to two clinically problematic pathogens: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumanii. The results identified immunity related genes that were differentially expressed when exposed to these pathogens, as well as non-immune genes possibly involved in gut responses to bacterial infection. There was a greater response to P. aeruginosa that increased over time, while few genes responded to A. baumanii exposure and expression was not time-dependent. The response to feeding on pathogens indicates a few common responses and features distinct to each pathogen, which is useful in improving wound debridement therapy and helps develop biomimetic alternatives.