Shigella sonnei and Shigella flexneri infection in Caenorhabditis elegans led to species-specific regulatory responses in the host and pathogen.

Abstract

In recent decades, Shigella sonnei has surpassed Shigella flexneri as the leading cause of shigellosis, possibly due to species-specific differences in their transcriptomic responses. This study used dual RNA sequencing to analyse the transcriptomic responses of Caenorhabditis elegans and the two Shigella species at early (10 minutes) and late (24 hours) stages of infection. While the nematode defence response was downregulated during both Shigella infections, only infection by S. sonnei led to downregulation of sphingolipid metabolism, cadmium ion response and xenobiotic response in C. elegans. Furthermore, S. sonnei upregulates biofilm formation and energy generation/conservation during infection, acid resistance-related genes and biofilm regulators compared to S. flexneri. These findings highlight species-specific responses during C. elegans infection.