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Establishment of a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model for Vibrio alginolyticus
Author(s) -
Durai Sellegounder,
Pandian Shunmugiah Karutha,
Balamurugan Krishnaswamy
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of basic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0233-111X
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.201000303
Subject(s) - vibrio alginolyticus , caenorhabditis elegans , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , pathogen , vibrio , virulence , gene , bacteria , genetics
Vibrio alginolyticus, a common bacterium in the marine environment, is a threat to marine animals and humans by causing serious infections. The present study reveals the establishment of a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model for Vibrio alginolyticus . The infection and colonization was localized in the animal by tagging V. alginolyticus with GFP and using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. Chemotactic response of C. elegans to V. alginolyticus , pharyngeal distention and blockage of vulval region leading to internal hatching were analyzed. The time required for causing infection, and the bacterial loads in the intestine of C. elegans were determined. Regulation of innate immune related genes, lys‐7 , clec‐60 and clec‐87 , were also analyzed using real time PCR. The pathogen infected animals appeared to ward‐off infection by up‐regulating the candidate antimicrobial gene(s) for few hours, before succumbing to the pathogen. For the first time, the pathogenicity of V. alginolyticus at both physiological and molecular level has been studied in detail using the model organism C. elegans. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)