Caenorhabditis elegans- microbe interactions are defined as any interaction that encompasses the association with microbes that temporarily or permanently live in or on the nematode C. elegans. The microbes can engage in a commensal, mutualistic or pathogenic interaction with the host. These include bacterial, viral, unicellular eukaryotic, and fungal interactions. In nature C. elegans harbours a diverse set of microbes.[1] In contrast, C. elegans strains that are cultivated in laboratories for research purposes have lost the natural associated microbial communities and are commonly maintained on a single bacterial strain, Escherichia coli OP50. However, E. coli OP50 does not allow for reverse genetic screens because RNAi libraries have only been generated in strain HT115. This limits the ability to study bacterial effects on host phenotypes.[2] The host microbe interactions of C. elegans are closely studied because of their orthologs in humans.[2] Therefore, the better we understand the host interactions of C. elegans the better we can understand the host interactions within the human body.
- ^ Samuel, Buck S.; Rowedder, Holli; Braendle, Christian; Félix, Marie-Anne; Ruvkun, Gary (2016-07-05). "Caenorhabditis elegans responses to bacteria from its natural habitats". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (27): E3941–3949. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113E3941S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1607183113. ISSN 1091-6490. PMC 4941482. PMID 27317746.
- ^ a b Zhang, Jingyan; Holdorf, Amy D; Walhout, Albertha JM (August 2017). "C. elegans and its bacterial diet as a model for systems-level understanding of host–microbiota interactions". Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 46: 74–80. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2017.01.008. PMC 5544573. PMID 28189107.