Caenorhabditis elegans Antifungal Defense Mechanisms
Sid ahmed Labed, and Nathalie Pujol
Caenorhabditis elegans is a popular model in many areas of biology. With fewer than 1000 cells, a simple anatomy, and a life-cycle of 3 days,
C elegans is economical to use in the laboratory, ethically acceptable, and its use is supported by a large and growing community of researchers who have collectively generated a wealth of knowledge about this nematode. The worm shares its natural habitat with a variety of microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. These microorganisms may serve as a food source, but they can also be predators, so the nematode has evolved complex defenses to fight infection.
C elegans can also be infected artificially by pathogens that cause human disease and can, therefore, be used as a model host to understand virulence mechanisms relevant to human health. In this review, we will focus on host defense mechanisms, particularly those that have been refined by the long co-evolution of the nematode with its natural fungal pathogens – the nematophagous fungi.