Age Does Not Affect the Induction of Mortality by the Foodborne Pathogen Salmonella enterica in Caenorhabditis elegans ()
ABSTRACT
Salmonella is a common cause of foodborne illness within the United States
with the severity of the infection being a factor of both the age and overall
health of the infected individual. The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans
has proven to be a useful model to study infection dynamics of pathogenic
bacteria, including Salmonella enterica, and its short lifespan makes it a powerful
model system to assess the effect of organismal age on infection severity.
In this study, we infected C. elegans with each of 6 serovars of S. enterica at
1, 3 or 5 days of worm age and monitored their survival. Worms infected with
E. coli OP50 were used as a control. Infection with S. enterica resulted in a
significant reduction in mean longevity relative to OP50 (p < 0.05); however,
there was no significant effect of age on mean survival time regardless of the
strain of bacteria used.
Share and Cite:
Burns, D. , Harper, J. and Lynne, A. (2017) Age Does Not Affect the Induction of Mortality by the Foodborne Pathogen
Salmonella enterica in
Caenorhabditis elegans.
Advances in Microbiology,
7, 689-695. doi:
10.4236/aim.2017.710054.