C. elegans: A biosensor for host-microbe interactions

Abstract

Microbes are an integral part of life on this planet. Microbes and their hosts influence each other in an endless dance that shapes how the meta-organism interacts with its environment. Although great advances have been made in microbiome research over the past 20 years, the mechanisms by which both hosts and their microbes interact with each other and the environment are still not well understood. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been widely used as a model organism to study a remarkable number of human-like processes. Recent evidence shows that the worm is a powerful tool to investigate in fine detail the complexity that exists in microbe–host interactions. By combining the large array of genetic tools available for both organisms together with deep phenotyping approaches, it has been possible to uncover key effectors in the complex relationship between microbes and their hosts. In this perspective, we survey the literature for insightful discoveries in the microbiome field using the worm as a model. We discuss the latest conceptual and technological advances in the field and highlight the strengths that make C. elegans a valuable biosensor tool for the study of microbe–host interactions.