Ethanol mediates the interaction between
Caenorhabditis elegans
and the nematophagous fungus
Purpureocillium lavendulum
Authors: Zhuang Xue-Mei , Guo Zhi-Yi , Zhang Meng , Chen Yong-Hong , Qi Feng-Na , Wang Ren-Qiao , Zhang Ling , Zhao Pei-Ji , Lu Chao-Jun , Zou Cheng-Gang , Ma Yi-Cheng , Xu Jianping , Zhang Ke-Qin , Cao Yan-Ru , Liang Lian-Ming 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACT

Accurately recognizing pathogens by the host is vital for initiating appropriate immune response against infecting microorganisms.
Caenorhabditis elegans
has no known receptor to recognize pathogen-associated molecular pattern. However, recent studies showed that nematodes have a strong specificity for transcriptomes infected by different pathogens, indicating that they can identify different pathogenic microorganisms. However, the mechanism(s) for such specificity remains largely unknown. In this study, we showed that the nematophagous fungus
Purpureocillium lavendulum
can infect the intestinal tract of the nematode
C. elegans
and the infection led to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the infected intestinal tract, which suppressed fungal growth. Co-transcriptional analysis revealed that fungal genes related to anaerobic respiration and ethanol production were up-regulated during infection. Meanwhile, the ethanol dehydrogenase Sodh-1 in
C. elegans
was also up-regulated. Together, these results suggested that the infecting fungi encounter hypoxia stress in the nematode gut and that ethanol may play a role in the host–pathogen interaction. Ethanol production
in vitro
during fungal cultivation in hypoxia conditions was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Direct treatment of
C. elegans
with ethanol elevated the
sodh-1
expression and ROS accumulation while repressing a series of immunity genes that were also repressed during fungal infection. Mutation of
sodh-1
in
C. elegans
blocked ROS accumulation and increased the nematode’s susceptibility to fungal infection. Our study revealed a new recognition and antifungal mechanism in
C. elegans
. The novel mechanism of ethanol-mediated interaction between the fungus and nematode provides new insights into fungal pathogenesis and for developing alternative biocontrol of pathogenic nematodes by nematophagous fungi.

IMPORTANCE

Nematodes are among the most abundant animals on our planet. Many of them are parasites in animals and plants and cause human and animal health problems as well as agricultural losses. Studying the interaction of nematodes and their microbial pathogens is of great importance for the biocontrol of animal and plant parasitic nematodes. In this study, we found that the model nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans
can recognize its fungal pathogen, the nematophagous fungus
Purpureocillium lavendulum
, through fungal-produced ethanol. Then the nematode elevated the reactive oxygen species production in the gut to inhibit fungal growth in an ethanol dehydrogenase-dependent manner. With this mechanism, novel biocontrol strategies may be developed targeting the ethanol receptor or metabolic pathway of nematodes. Meanwhile, as a volatile organic compound, ethanol should be taken seriously as a vector molecule in the microbial–host interaction in nature.