Novel infection by <i>Mucor hiemalis</i> kills <i>Caenorhabditis</i> hosts through intestinal perforation.

ABSTRACT: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a popular model system to investigate cell biology and host-pathogen interactions. Presently, C. elegans is studied as a natural host of intracellular pathogens such as microsporidia and Orsay virus along with extracellular bacterial and fungal pathogens. The use of C. elegans as a model in host-pathogen research is limited by the number of naturally occurring pathogens to the organism. Through a sampling project to identify new pathogens of C. elegans, we identified the fungus Mucor hiemalis as a pathogen of Caenorhabditis species. We observed the fungus in the intestinal lumen of wild-caught Caenorhabditis briggsae, and co-culturing the wild-caught species with infection reporter C. ele

SUBMITTER: Ni J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12157607 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature