Molecular Effectors in Immune Modulation and Pathogenicity by Parasitic Nematodes

Special seminar by Adler Dillman, Ph.D., Center for Infectious Disease and Vector Research, University of California Riverside

Entomopathogenic nematodes are lethal parasites of insects. The free-living, developmentally arrested infective juvenile (IJ) stage infects hosts. IJs release insect-pathogenic bacteria along with an arsenal of nematode proteins into hosts. Dillman has shown that the mixture of proteins released by activated IJs is toxic at low doses to a variety of hosts. He has also identified several fatty acid- and retinol-binding proteins (FARs) released by activated IJs. Dillman will demonstrate that these FAR proteins are potent modulators of immunity, decreasing host resistance to bacterial infection. His data suggest that activated steinernematid IJs release a complex mixture of proteins that modulate host immunity and contribute to host death.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Adler Dillman has been working with parasitic nematodes since he was an undergraduate. He studied behavioral ecology, genetics, and genomics as a graduate student at Caltech. He studied innate immunity as a postdoc at Stanford. He was awarded the Ferguson prize for the best thesis in biology at Caltech, was a Howard Hughes Postdoctoral Fellow of the Life Sciences Research Foundation and has received awards from the Society of Nematologists and the National Institutes of Health.

Everyone is welcome to attend.