title: Establishment of a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model for Vibrio alginolyticus.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Alagappa University, Karaikudi-630 003, India.
authors.forename: Sellegounder
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Durai
authors.forename: Shunmugiah Karutha
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Pandian
authors.forename: Krishnaswamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Balamurugan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000382:microbiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D044149:Vibrio alginolyticus / Q000472:pathogenicity*
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins