PH13 Metals in the Environment: Dietary Concerns in Aquatic Systems
Exhibit Hall
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(PH150) The role of selenium in the modulation of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis induced biofilm formation on Caenorhabditis elegans.
Nascarella, Marc1, Presley, Steven1, 1 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tx, USA
ABSTRACT- The role of selenium in the formation of a bacterial biofilm on a biotic surface was evaluated using the invertebrate model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. Selenium (Se) is a trace mineral that is essential to the expression of a number of proteins that play an essential role in immune function. Many infections are much more severe in a Se-deficient host as compared to a Se-competent host. Given the essential nature of biofilm formation in the progression of infectious disease it is of interest to study the role of Se in the establishment of a bacterial biofilm. The process of biofilm development is initiated when a C. elegans worm ingests Yersinia spp. bacteria and an extracellular biofilm is formed on both the head and mouth of the worm. Despite the abundance of literature on both C. elegans and the toxicology of selenium, there is a paucity of data on the interaction of the two. Therefore, a series of Se dosing experiments was accomplished to characterize various life history traits in the presence and absence of this metal. To evaluate the role of Se in the modulation of biofilm formation, adult C. elegans were fed Yersinia pseudotuberculosis along with various concentrations of selenium. Parallel experiments were conducted in selenium free medium using a colony of multigenerational worm strains reared on Se-enriched and Se-deficient diets. Standard micro and molecular biological techniques were used to determine the alteration of both the biofilm and the host in the presence or absence of selenium. Given the concerted evolution between the mammalian and invertebrate systems, research in this area provides an unrealized resource of additional information on the role of Se on biological processes common to all metazoans.
Key words: selenium, Caenorhabditis elegans, biofilm, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis