Drosophila melanogaster natural variation affects infection and microbial growth dynamics when infected with Listeria monocytogenes
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The immune response is a dynamic system, which balances microbe killing with host health. In this dissertation I used a Drosophila melanogaster -- Listeria monocytogenes model to define parameters that define the dynamics of infection, and to measure the variance of these key parameters. In Chapter 2, I performed a screen to identify genes that affect the phenotypic natural variation of host survival and pathogen growth control after an infection. In Chapter 3, I investigated the shape of disease- tolerance curves, which summarize infection outcome by plotting health by microbe load. We found tolerance curves are sigmoid, and can be warped in predictable ways. Using this information, we defined a simple mathematical model of infection comprised of three parameters: microbial growth, immune activation and host health. In Chapter 4, I report experiments that focused on microbe growth, measuring how fly genetic variation alters Listeria growth curves. I found microbe growth curves changed in two ways: maximal growth rate and/or growth plateau. I found that these two growth parameters could change independently and both affected host health. This work provides a foundation for a dynamic model of immunity, which is essential to explain how the balance between microbe killing and host health is maintained.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2015 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Hotson, Alejandra Guzman |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. |
| Primary advisor | Schneider, David (David Samuel) |
| Thesis advisor | Schneider, David (David Samuel) |
| Thesis advisor | Kirkegaard, Karla |
| Thesis advisor | Monack, Denise M |
| Thesis advisor | Mudgett, Mary Beth, 1967- |
| Advisor | Kirkegaard, Karla |
| Advisor | Monack, Denise M |
| Advisor | Mudgett, Mary Beth, 1967- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Alejandra Guzman Hotson. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2015 by Alejandra Guzman Hotson
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