English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a zoonotic disease that threatens both human and animal health. Due to the paucity of experimental animal models, little is known about how host factors interface with bacterial components and affect pathogenesis. Here, we usedDrosophila melanogaster , in conjunction with the biosafety level 2 (BSL2) Nine Mile phase II (NMII) clone 4 strain ofC. burnetii , as a model to investigate host and bacterial components implicated in infection. We demonstrate that adultDrosophila flies are susceptible toC. burnetii NMII infection and that this bacterial strain, which activates the immune deficiency (IMD) pathway, is able to replicate and cause mortality in the animals. We show that in the absence of Eiger, the only known tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily homolog inDrosophila ,Coxiella -infected flies exhibit reduced mortality from infection. We also demonstrate that theCoxiella type 4 secretion system (T4SS) is critical for the formation of theCoxiella -containing vacuole and establishment of infection inDrosophila . Altogether, our data reveal that theDrosophila TNF homolog Eiger and theCoxiella T4SS are implicated in the pathogenesis ofC. burnetii in flies. TheDrosophila /NMII model mimics relevant aspects of the infection in mammals, such as a critical role of host TNF and the bacterial T4SS in pathogenesis. Our work also demonstrates the usefulness of this BSL2 model to investigate both host andCoxiella components implicated in infection.

Host and Bacterial Factors Control Susceptibility of Drosophila melanogaster to Coxiella burnetii Infection