Identification of attractive odorants released by preferred bacterial food found in the natural habitats of C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Food choice is critical for survival because organisms must choose food that is edible and nutritious and avoid pathogenic food. Many organisms, including the nematode C. elegans, use olfaction to detect and distinguish among food sources. C. elegans exhibits innate preferences for the odors of different bacterial species. However, little is known about the preferences of C. elegans for bacterial strains isolated from their natural environment as well as the attractive volatile compounds released by preferred natural bacteria isolates. We tested food odor preferences of C. elegans for non-pathogenic bacteria found in their natural habitats. We found that C. elegans showed a preference for the odor of six of the eight tested bacterial isolates over its standard food source, E. coli HB101. U

SUBMITTER: Worthy SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6056031 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature