Author: pwatnick

Bat, who collaborated with Layla Kamareddine early on, shows that acetate produced by the microbiota enters the cell through an acetate transporter he named Tarag. From there it is converted to acetyl-CoA and used by the histone acetyltransferase Tip60 complex to acetylate histone 2Av, which activates transcription of ecdysone-induced genes including the peptidoglycan receptor PGRP-LC. He proposes that the increase in PGRP-LC transcription potentiates innate immune signaling in the intestine. This leads to increased antimicrobial peptide expression and increased expression of tachykinin, an inhibitor of lipid synthesis in the gut. This provides a template for how microbiota might influence the innate immune response of the intestinal epithelium.

Here is a link to his paper:

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1dCgc3qNrUmRJx

Congratulations Layla!!! Former Watnick lab postdoc and current Assistant Professor at Qatar University, Dr. Layla Kamareddine wins first prize in for her poster: Between Immunity, Metabolism, and Development: A story of a Fly Gut! at the Annual Research Forum & Exhibition November, 2020; Doha, Qatar.