Caenorhabditis elegans employs innate and learned aversion in response to bacterial toxic metabolites tambjamine and violacein.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriovorus eukaryotes such as nematodes are one of the major natural predators of bacteria. In their defense bacteria have evolved a number of strategies to avoid predation, including the production of deterrent or toxic metabolites, however little is known regarding the response of predators towards such bacterial defenses. Here we use the nematode C. elegans as a model to study a predators' behavioral response towards two toxic bacterial metabolites, tambjamine YP1 and violacein. We found that C. elegans displays an innate avoidance behavior towards tambjamine YP1, however requires previous exposure to violacein before learning to avoid this metabolite. The learned avoidance of violacein is specific, reversible, is mediated via the nematode olfactory apparatus (aversive olfactory lear

SUBMITTER: Ballestriero F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4935850 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature