Tackling both sides of the host-pathogen equation with Caenorhabditis elegans.
If one is interested in dissecting the complex interactions that exist between host and pathogen, the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is perhaps not the first model host that comes to mind. In this review I will introduce 'the worm' and try to show how it is, in fact, well suited to the identification of universal virulence factors and holds great promise for the study of conserved mechanisms of innate immunity.
Ewbank
Jonathan J
JJ
Centre d'immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, INSERM/CNRS/université de la Méditerranée, Case 906, 13288 cedex 9, Marseille, France. ewbank@ciml.univ-mrs.fr
D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017238:Genes, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D014774:Virulence