IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Microbiome-Derived RNA as a Trigger for Heritable Innate Immunity

Microbiome-Derived RNA as a Trigger for Heritable Innate Immunity

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Video Summary

Researchers in a C. elegans lab study host-pathogen interactions in intestinal cells, focusing on an “intracellular pathogen response” (IPR) that protects against viruses and microsporidia but costs fitness. They discovered that a microbiome bacterium, Stenotrophomonas indicatrix JUB19, can also trigger this response. The signal appears to be bacterial RNA, which induces partial IPR and broader metabolic changes. This bacterial exposure protects worms from Orsay virus and may also protect against microsporidia. Remarkably, the protection is inherited for one generation. However, it slows growth, reduces brood size, and shortens lifespan, highlighting a tradeoff between immunity and fitness.

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Date April 16, 2026 4:45 PM - 4:57 PM

Room 156

Session Pathogen Sensing and Innate Immune Responses

Speaker Vladimir Lazetic

Track Innate Immune Responses and Host Defense: Molecular Mechanisms (INM)

Year 2026

Keywords

C. elegans

intracellular pathogen response

Stenotrophomonas indicatrix JUB19

bacterial RNA

host-pathogen interactions

April 16, 2026 4:45 PM - 4:57 PM

156

Pathogen Sensing and Innate Immune Responses

Vladimir Lazetic

Innate Immune Responses and Host Defense: Molecular Mechanisms (INM)

2026