{"doi":"10.1038/s42003-024-07348-2","title":"An acidic microenvironment produced by the V-type ATPase of Euprymna scolopes promotes specificity during Vibrio fischeri recruitment","abstract":"Animals often acquire their microbial symbionts from the environment, but the mechanisms underlying how specificity of the association is achieved are poorly understood. We demonstrate that the conserved proton pump, V-type ATPase (VHA), plays a key role in the establishment of the model light-organ symbiosis between the squid Euprymna scolopes and its bacterial partner, Vibrio fischeri. Recruitment of V. fischeri from the surrounding seawater is mediated by juvenile-specific ciliated fields on the organ's surface. These epithelia produce acidic mucus containing antimicrobials with low-pH optima, creating a chemical environment fostering specific recruitment of V. fischeri. We provide evidence that this critical acidic landscape is created by activity of VHA. VHA inhibition abolished epithelial-cell acidity, resulting in increased mucus pH and inefficient symbiont colonization. Thus, VHA provides a mechanistic link between host modulation of microenvironmental acidity, immune function, and selection of microbial symbionts, a strategy for specificity that may govern other symbioses.","journal":"Communications Biology","year":2024,"id":446167,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":7,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9515,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1165949,"name":"Joani Viliunas","orcid":"0000-0001-7795-4265","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":428846,"name":"Sabrina Koehler","orcid":"0009-0007-3929-2214","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1262971,"name":"Angus B. Thies","orcid":"0000-0002-3235-2436","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":413647,"name":"Grischa Y. Chen","orcid":"0000-0001-9786-323X","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":228766,"name":"Mark S. Ladinsky","orcid":"0000-0002-1036-3513","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":787519,"name":"Jill T. Kuwabara","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1262972,"name":"Viridiana Avila‐Magaña","orcid":"0000-0001-6249-4761","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":304856,"name":"Edward G. Ruby","orcid":"0000-0002-4112-4830","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":941157,"name":"Martín Tresguerres","orcid":"0000-0002-7090-9266","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":304855,"name":"Margaret McFall‐Ngai","orcid":"0000-0002-6046-6238","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1263494,"name":"Alexis C. Hargadon","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":83,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:01:50.465308Z","pmid":"39695176","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}