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Review

Strength in numbers

“Omics” studies of C. elegans innate immunity

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Pages 477-484 | Received 30 May 2012, Accepted 21 Aug 2012, Published online: 01 Oct 2012
 

Abstract

For more than ten years the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has proven to be a valuable model for studies of the host response to various bacterial and fungal pathogens. When exposed to a pathogenic organism, a clear response is elicited in the nematode, which is characterized by specific alterations on the transcriptional and translational levels. Early on, researchers took advantage of the possibility to conduct large-scale investigations of the C. elegans immune response. Multiple studies demonstrated that C. elegans does indeed mount a protective response against invading pathogens, thus rendering this small nematode a very useful and simple host model for the study of innate immunity and host-pathogen interactions. Here, we provide an overview of key aspects of innate immunity in C. elegans revealed by recent whole-genome transcriptomics and proteomics studies of the global response of C. elegans to various bacterial and fungal pathogens.

Supplemental Materials

Supplemental materials may be found here: www.landesbioscience.com/journals/virulence/article/21906