A new earthworm cellulase and its possible role in the innate immunity

Park, In Yong; Roung, Ju; Ok, Suk-Mi; Shin, Chuog; Kim, Jin-Se; Kwak, Hee‐Jin; Yu, Yun-Sang; Kim, Yu‐Kyung; Medina, Brenda; Cho, Sung‐Jin; Park, Soon Cheol

doi:10.1016/j.dci.2016.09.003

Cited by 12 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…This suggests that P . corethrurus consumes and degrades a greater variety of organic materials given its greater ability (efficiency), evidenced by: a) producing endogenous cellulases [59–62]; b) its association with the gut microbiota [63–66]; c) gene expression (transcriptome) that contribute to the adaptation of its digestive system [65]; d) improving its digestion efficiency according to the type of cecum [59, 67]; and e) its association with nephridial bacteria [50, 68, 69].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pontoscolex corethrurus: A homeless invasive tropical earthworm?

et al. 2019

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The presence of earthworm species in crop fields is as old as agriculture itself. The earthworms Pontoscolex corethrurus (invasive) and Balanteodrilus pearsei (native) are associated with the emergence of agriculture and sedentism in the region Amazon and Maya, respectively. Both species have shifted their preference from their natural habitat to the cropland niche. They contrast in terms of intensification of agricultural land use (anthropic impact to the symbiotic soil microbiome). P. corethrurus inhabits conventional agroecosystems, while B. pearsei thrives in traditional agroecosystems, i.e., P. corethrurus has not yet been recorded in soils where B. pearsei dwells. The demographic behavior of these two earthworm species was assessed in the laboratory over 100 days, according to their origin (OE; P. corethrurus and B. pearsei) food quality (FQ; soil only, maize stubble, Mucuna pruriens), and soil moisture (SM; 25, 33, 42%). The results showed that OE, FQ, SM, and the OE x FQ interaction were highly significant for the survival, growth, and reproduction of earthworms. P. corethrurus showed a lower survival rate (> mortality). P. corethrurus survivors fed a diet of low-to-intermediate nutritional quality (soil and stubble maize, respectively) showed a greater capacity to grow and reproduce; however, it was surpassed by the native earthworm when fed a high-quality diet (M. pruriens). Besides, P. corethrurus displayed a low cocoon hatching (emergence of juveniles). These results suggest that the presence of the invasive species was associated with a negative interaction with the soil microbiota where the native species dwells, and with the absence of natural mutualistic bacteria (gut, nephridia, and cocoons). These results are consistent with the absence of P. corethrurus in milpa and pasture-type agricultural niches managed by peasants (agroecologists) to grow food regularly through biological soil management. Results reported here suggest that P. corethrurus is an invasive species that is neither wild nor domesticated, that is, its eco-evolutionary phylogeny needs to be derived based on its symbionts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pontoscolex corethrurus: A homeless invasive tropical earthworm?

et al. 2019

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“…Proteases have been demonstrated to identify and degrade ROS-oxidized proteins in cells, minimizing their cytotoxicity [65]. Another vital enzyme, CL, can decompose cellulose into oligosaccharides and cellobiose and finally into glucose, which also plays an important role in biological autoimmunity [66]. Phosphatase can catalyze the hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters under acid or alkaline conditions, plays a pivotal role in the metabolism of phosphorus in organisms, and significantly affects the phosphorus cycle in the environment [67].…”

Section: Earthworm Digestive Enzymesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Earthworm (Eisenia fetida) Induced by Enrofloxacin and Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate

et al. 2023

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We found that the typical fluoroquinolone antibiotic enrofloxacin (ENR) and plasticizer di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are often detected simultaneously and at high frequencies in the environment, but their combined exposure effects on soil animals are poorly understood. Here, oxidative stress, DNA damage and changes in digestibility of the earthworm were investigated to reflect the toxicological effects of single and combined exposure of DEHP and ENR on earthworms (Eisenia fetida). We found that the DEHP treatment group and the combined pollution treatment group showed significantly increased reactive oxygen species content of earthworms at 14 d and 28 d. ENR exposure alone had little effect on the antioxidant enzyme system, while DEHP and combined treatment showed a trend of inhibition and then activation. Addition of both pollutants caused a rise in the lipid peroxidation levels of earthworms. Malonaldehyde (MDA) was mainly scavenged by glutathione sulfur transferase (GST). ENR and DEHP caused more DNA damage to earthworm tissue than their combined pollution under the regulation of GST. Both single and combined pollution inhibited the digestive enzyme activity of earthworms, but the combined pollution had a stronger inhibitory effect. Cellulase, MDA and GST were the three most sensitive indicators on PCA. The toxicity was ENR + DEHP > DEHP > ENR according to the IBR index, and the combined toxicity showed a synergistic effect. The results showed that the combined pollution of phthalate esters and antibiotics in the actual environment was a significant ecological risk that deserves special attention.

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“…Sexually mature earthworms Eisenia andrei with welldeveloped clitella were obtained from a commercial source (Seoul, Korea) and reared as described previously (Park et al 2017). Before use, earthworms were placed on moistened filter paper in Petri dishes with earthworm saline (Storey 1989) for 48 h to purge the gut contents and avoid sample contamination.…”

Section: Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptional upregulation of multiple earthworm chitinase genes following bacterial challenge suggests their implications in innate immunity

et al. 2021

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Background Chitinase is a multi-functional enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of β-1,4-linkages between N-acetylglucosamines (GlcNAc) in chitin. Recent studies imply that earthworm chitinase is implicated in self-defense immunity against chitin-containing pathogens. However, a direct relationship of earthworm chitinase with innate immunity has not yet been established. Objective In this study, earthworm (Eisenia andrei) chitinase expression was examined following bacterial challenge by Bacillus subtilis. Methods RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to quantitatively evaluate mRNA expression changes in response to bacterial stimulation. Results Multiple chitinase-related mRNAs were found to be upregulated, among which EaChi3, EaChi4, and EaChi2 were upregulated by approximately eightfold, eightfold, and 2.5-fold, respectively. This strongly suggested that earthworm chitinases may act as inducible humoral effectors in earthworm innate immunity. The primary structures of all three chitinases contained an N-terminal glycol_18 domain with two chitin-binding and chitin-catalyzing domains, and a C-terminal proline, glycine, serine, threonine (PGST)-rich domain. In addition, EaChi2 had a chitin-binding peritrophin-A domain at the end of the C-terminus with 5 cysteine residues possibly contributing two intradomain disulfide bonds. Multiple sequence alignment of the catalytic domain centers of glycol_18 domain displayed highly conserved chitin-binding and chitin-catalyzing domains in which three essential amino acid residues (D, D, E) for catalyzing activity are well conserved except EaChi4. The critical glutamic acid (E) residue was substituted for glutamine (Q) in EaChi4 indicating that it is devoid of catalytic activity. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first report providing direct evidence that multiple earthworm chitinases are bacteria-responsive, strongly suggesting that earthworm chitinases are inducible humoral effectors in earthworm innate immunity. In addition, our results possibly suggest that earthworm EaChi4 may function as a pattern recognition molecule modulating the downstream immune pathway.

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A new earthworm cellulase and its possible role in the innate immunity

Cited by 12 publications

References 20 publications

Pontoscolex corethrurus: A homeless invasive tropical earthworm?

Pontoscolex corethrurus: A homeless invasive tropical earthworm?

Ecotoxicological Evaluation of Earthworm (Eisenia fetida) Induced by Enrofloxacin and Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate

Transcriptional upregulation of multiple earthworm chitinase genes following bacterial challenge suggests their implications in innate immunity

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