Gut Microbiota Research using C. elegans

Abstract

Many approaches to disease and health control have been attempted using intestinal bacteria and probiotics. However, the molecular mechanisms of the interactions between intestinal bacteria and their hosts are still largely unknown. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is one of the model organisms that have played an important role in discoveries which garnered three Nobel Prizes. Since the report of prolongevity effects of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria on Caenorhabditis elegans, together with moves to reduce or eliminate mammalian experiments, knowledge on the biological effects of probiotics and beneficial bacteria using Caenorhabditis elegans as an alternative model has been rapidly accumulating. Our understanding of the intestinal microbiota of the wild C. elegans has also progressed. The C. elegans model is expected to be intensively utilized to elucidate intestinal microbiota-host interactions.