Early life microbial exposures shape the Crassostrea gigas immune system for lifelong and intergenerational disease protection

• Background: The interaction of organisms with their surrounding microbial communities influences many biological processes, a notable example of which is the shaping of the immune system in early life. In the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, the role of the environmental microbial community on immune system maturation — and, importantly, protection from infectious disease — is still an open question.Results: Here, we demonstrate that early life microbial exposure durably improves oyster survival when challenged with the pathogen causing Pacific oyster mortality syndrome (POMS), both in the exposed generation and in the subsequent one. Combining microbiota, transcriptomic, genetic, and epigenetic analyses, we show that the microbial exposure induced changes in epigenetic marks and a reprogramming of immune gene expression leading to long-term and intergenerational immune protection against POMS.Conclusions: We anticipate that this protection likely extends to additional pathogens and may prove to be an important new strategy for safeguarding oyster aquaculture efforts from infectious disease

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Oyster

Aquaculture

Microbiota

Innate immune shaping

Epigenetic

DNA methylation

Biology

Biologi

Enviromental Science

Miljövetenskap

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)