PALS-14 promotes resistance to Nematocida parisii infection in Caenorhabditis elegans

Microsporidia are common natural pathogens of the nematode <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> . Infection of <i>C. elegans</i> by the microsporidian species <i>Nematocida parisii</i> leads to induction of the Intracellular Pathogen Response (IPR), including transcriptional upregulation of 26 <i>pals</i> genes. The divergent ' <i>pals</i> ' sequence signature is conserved with humans, but PALS proteins have unknown biochemical functions. So far, none of the 26 induced <i>pals</i> genes have a demonstrated role in immunity. Here, we use RNAseq data, RNA interference, and CRISPR/Cas9 mutant analysis to identify the <i>N. parisii</i> -induced <i>pals-14</i> gene as an immune gene that provides defense against microsporidia infection in <i>C. elegans</i> .