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Microbial Regulation of Heat Stress Response in Caenorhabditis Elegans

AJAS · 2019 Animal Sciences (inferred)

Fiona G. Sweeney · New Hampshire Science Academy

Overview

There is an increasing amount of evidence showing that the microbiome is a contributor to both immune and stress responses in a variety of organisms. One of these organisms is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our 2017 study showed that a more diverse microbiome, which consisted of E. coli OP50, E. coli HB101, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium infantis, improved the lifespan of C. elegans that underwent heat stress. The question addressed in this study is whether C. elegans will have a longer lifespan under heat exposure when they have a microbiome that is more diverse and representative of their natural microbiome. This study used wild-type C. elegans that were grown on plates seeded with the following bacteria: 1) a control of E. coli OP50; 2) a mix of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida; and 3) a mix of OP50, P. fluorescens, P. pudita, Acetobacter aceti, and Enterobacter aerogenes. These bacteria were chosen because they are more representative of C. elegans’ microbiome in the wild than were the four strains chosen in our 2017 studies. The worms were incubated for 3 hours at 37˚C and their survival rate was recorded. There was no significant difference in survival between the group that had one strain of bacteria and the group that had two strains of bacteria. There was a significant decrease in death rate for the five-strain mix compared to the control (p = 0.006) and the Pseudomonas mix (p = 0.007). The death rates of the control, Pseudomonas mix, and five strain mix were 91%, 86%, and 41%, respectively. This suggests that a higher and more representative level of microbiome diversity decreases the probability of death in response to heat stress.

Competition history

  • AJAS 2019 Category not listed

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Source: AAAS Annual Meeting (Confex) / American Junior Academy of Science

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