Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
PLoS One
2009 Aug 04;48:e6494. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006494.
Show Gene links
Show Anatomy links
Genome-wide transcriptional response of Silurana (Xenopus) tropicalis to infection with the deadly chytrid fungus.
Rosenblum EB
,
Poorten TJ
,
Settles M
,
Murdoch GK
,
Robert J
,
Maddox N
,
Eisen MB
.
???displayArticle.abstract???
Emerging infectious diseases are of great concern for both wildlife and humans. Several highly virulent fungal pathogens have recently been discovered in natural populations, highlighting the need for a better understanding of fungal-vertebrate host-pathogen interactions. Because most fungal pathogens are not fatal in the absence of other predisposing conditions, host-pathogen dynamics for deadly fungal pathogens are of particular interest. The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (hereafter Bd) infects hundreds of species of frogs in the wild. It is found worldwide and is a significant contributor to the current global amphibian decline. However, the mechanism by which Bd causes death in amphibians, and the response of the host to Bd infection, remain largely unknown. Here we use whole-genome microarrays to monitor the transcriptional responses to Bd infection in the model frog species, Silurana (Xenopus) tropicalis, which is susceptible to chytridiomycosis. To elucidate the immune response to Bd and evaluate the physiological effects of chytridiomycosis, we measured gene expression changes in several tissues (liver, skin, spleen) following exposure to Bd. We detected a strong transcriptional response for genes involved in physiological processes that can help explain some clinical symptoms of chytridiomycosis at the organismal level. However, we detected surprisingly little evidence of an immune response to Bd exposure, suggesting that this susceptible species may not be mounting efficient innate and adaptive immune responses against Bd. The weak immune response may be partially explained by the thermal conditions of the experiment, which were optimal for Bd growth. However, many immune genes exhibited decreased expression in Bd-exposed frogs compared to control frogs, suggesting a more complex effect of Bd on the immune system than simple temperature-mediated immune suppression. This study generates important baseline data for ongoing efforts to understand differences in response to Bd between susceptible and resistant frog species and the effects of chytridiomycosis in natural populations.
???displayArticle.pubmedLink???
19701481
???displayArticle.pmcLink???PMC2727658 ???displayArticle.link???PLoS One ???displayArticle.grants???[+]
Figure 1. Summary of significant changes in gene expression between Bd-exposed and naïve control frogs.Numbers of genes with increased and decreased expression in infected frogs are shown for the skin (the site of infection) and the liver (an immunologically and physiologically important organ). Data are summarized for two time-points: early (3 days after initial exposure to Bd) and late (when clinical symptoms of chytridiomycosis are evident).
Figure 2. Validation of chip-based gene expression patterns with RT-PCR.Average expression is shown for several genes of interest relative to an endogenous control (beta actin). Mean and standard deviation are shown for biological replicates. In all cases RT-PCR results were in the same direction as array-based results and of comparable (or greater) magnitude.
Berger,
Chytridiomycosis causes amphibian mortality associated with population declines in the rain forests of Australia and Central America.
1998, Pubmed
Berger,
Chytridiomycosis causes amphibian mortality associated with population declines in the rain forests of Australia and Central America.
1998,
Pubmed
Berger,
Virulence of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytium dendrobatidis varies with the strain.
2005,
Pubmed
Berger,
Effect of season and temperature on mortality in amphibians due to chytridiomycosis.
2004,
Pubmed
Blanco,
Immune response to fungal infections.
2008,
Pubmed
Blehert,
Bat white-nose syndrome: an emerging fungal pathogen?
2009,
Pubmed
Bolstad,
A comparison of normalization methods for high density oligonucleotide array data based on variance and bias.
2003,
Pubmed
Boyle,
Rapid quantitative detection of chytridiomycosis (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibian samples using real-time Taqman PCR assay.
2004,
Pubmed
Déry,
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1: regulation by hypoxic and non-hypoxic activators.
2005,
Pubmed
Du Pasquier,
The immune system of Xenopus.
1989,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Dymock,
Coagulation studies as a prognostic index in acute liver failure.
1975,
Pubmed
Evans,
Ancestry influences the fate of duplicated genes millions of years after polyploidization of clawed frogs (Xenopus).
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Guengerich,
Cytochrome p450 and chemical toxicology.
2008,
Pubmed
Hung,
A metalloproteinase of Coccidioides posadasii contributes to evasion of host detection.
2005,
Pubmed
Irizarry,
Exploration, normalization, and summaries of high density oligonucleotide array probe level data.
2003,
Pubmed
Jenner,
Insights into host responses against pathogens from transcriptional profiling.
2005,
Pubmed
Letterio,
Invasive candidiasis stimulates hepatocyte and monocyte production of active transforming growth factor beta.
2001,
Pubmed
Lewis,
Liver transplantation: intraoperative changes in coagulation factors in 100 first transplants.
1989,
Pubmed
Lips,
Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community.
2006,
Pubmed
Maniero,
Changes in selected aspects of immune function in the leopard frog, Rana pipiens, associated with exposure to cold.
1997,
Pubmed
Masubuchi,
Endotoxin-mediated disturbance of hepatic cytochrome P450 function and development of endotoxin tolerance in the rat model of dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental colitis.
2004,
Pubmed
Mescher,
Cells of cutaneous immunity in Xenopus: studies during larval development and limb regeneration.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Parker,
Clinical diagnosis and treatment of epidermal chytridiomycosis in African clawed frogs (Xenopus tropicalis).
2002,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Piotrowski,
Physiology of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a chytrid pathogen of amphibians.
2004,
Pubmed
Rachowicz,
Emerging infectious disease as a proximate cause of amphibian mass mortality.
2006,
Pubmed
Ramanayake,
In vivo study of T-cell responses to skin alloantigens in Xenopus using a novel whole-mount immunohistology method.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Robert,
Comparative and developmental study of the immune system in Xenopus.
2009,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Romani,
Immunity to fungal infections.
2004,
Pubmed
Rosenblum,
Global gene expression profiles for life stages of the deadly amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
2008,
Pubmed
Rowley,
Behaviour of Australian rainforest stream frogs may affect the transmission of chytridiomycosis.
2007,
Pubmed
Schmid-Hempel,
Immune defence, parasite evasion strategies and their relevance for 'macroscopic phenomena' such as virulence.
2009,
Pubmed
Smith,
The molecular genetics of keratin disorders.
2003,
Pubmed
van der Sar,
Specificity of the zebrafish host transcriptome response to acute and chronic mycobacterial infection and the role of innate and adaptive immune components.
2009,
Pubmed
Vogl,
Immune evasion by acquisition of complement inhibitors: the mould Aspergillus binds both factor H and C4b binding protein.
2008,
Pubmed
Voyles,
Electrolyte depletion and osmotic imbalance in amphibians with chytridiomycosis.
2007,
Pubmed
Wabl,
Antibody patterns in genetically identical frogs.
1976,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Woodhams,
Population trends associated with skin peptide defenses against chytridiomycosis in Australian frogs.
2006,
Pubmed
Woods,
Knocking on the right door and making a comfortable home: Histoplasma capsulatum intracellular pathogenesis.
2003,
Pubmed
