Abstract
The swimming larvae of many marine animals identify a location on the sea floor to undergo metamorphosis based on the presence of specific bacteria. Although this microbe-animal interaction is critical for the life cycles of diverse marine animals, what types of biochemical cues from bacteria that induce metamorphosis has been a mystery. Metamorphosis of larvae of the tubeworm Hydroides elegans is induced by arrays of phage tail-like contractile injection systems, which are released by the bacterium Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea. Here we identify the novel effector protein Mif1. By cryo-electron tomography imaging and functional assays, we observe Mif1 as cargo inside the tube lumen of the contractile injection system and show that the mif1 gene is required for inducing metamorphosis. Purified Mif1 is sufficient for triggering metamorphosis when electroporated into tubeworm larvae. Our results indicate that the delivery of protein effectors by contractile injection systems may orchestrate microbe-animal interactions in diverse contexts.
Highlights
Bacteria can have profound effects on the normal development of diverse animal taxa (McFallNgai et al, 2013)
To investigate how bacteria induce animal metamorphosis, we have previously studied the interaction between the tubeworm Hydroides elegans and the bacterium Pseudoalteromonas luteoviolacea (Hadfield et al, 1994; Huang and Hadfield, 2003; Nedved and Hadfield, 2008; Shikuma et al, 2016)
We found that P. luteoviolacea produces arrays of Metamorphosis Associated Contractile structures (MACs) that induce the metamorphosis of Hydroides larvae (Huang et al, 2012; Shikuma et al, 2014)
Summary
Bacteria can have profound effects on the normal development of diverse animal taxa (McFallNgai et al, 2013). One of the most pervasive examples of bacteria stimulating development is the induction of animal metamorphosis by bacteria (Hadfield, 2011). During these interactions in marine environments, surface-bound bacteria often serve as environmental triggers that induce mobile animal larvae to settle on a surface and undergo metamorphosis.
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