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doi:10.1534/genetics.106.056093
A more recent version of this article appeared on June 1, 2006.
REGULAR RESEARCH PAPERS |
Sex-dependent resistance to the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans
Maaike C.W. van den Berg 1, Jessica Z. Woerlee 2, Hansong Ma 3 and Robin C. May 3*
1 Hubrecht Laboratory
2 University College Utrecht
3 University of Birmingham
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: r.c.may{at}bham.ac.uk.
Submitted on January 20, 2006
Revised on February 13, 2006
Accepted on 22 March 2006
Sex differences occur in most species and affect a variety of biological traits including morphology, behaviour and life history. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exists as a population of self-fertile hermaphrodites with occasional males, which differ anatomically and behaviourally from hermaphrodites. Here we show that male C. elegans also differ from hermaphrodites in their susceptibility to a fungal pathogen, Cryptococcus neoformans. Wildtype males show greater resistance to killing by this pathogen than hermaphrodite animals and this resistance can be induced in hermaphrodite animals by inappropriate activation of the male sex-determination pathway. Resistance is molecularly determined, rather than resulting from behavioural changes or reproductive differences, and requires the activity of the stress-response transcription factor DAF-16. Finally, we demonstrate that resistance to Cryptococcus neoformans correlates broadly with longevity within the Caenorhabditis genus. Our results hint at an overlap between the pathways controlling immunity and longevity and raise the possibility that differential regulation of these pathways may contribute to sex-dependent and species-dependent variation.
Key Words: Caenorhabditis elegans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Immunity, Pathogen, Sex
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