The Role of Acylated Homoserine Lactone Among Predator‐Prey Interactions of Arthrobotrys oligospora and Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

The necessity for biological control agents has increased over the past decade. Many pathogens become resistant to drugs and chemicals, pesticides are harming the environment and genetically‐modified pest‐resistant crops are a problem (Mankau, 1880). It has been previously established that Acylated Homoserine Lactone (AHL) is essential for bacterial cell to cell communication known as quorum sensing. AHL is part of the Lux –R family of enzymes used to transcribe and translate bacterial pheromones (Tsai, Winans, 2011). Studies have shown that the fungal organism, Arthrobotrys oligospora, has a homologous AHL gene in its genome. The parasitic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has been shown to move towards synthetic AHLs. Therefore, we hypothesize AHL acts as an attractant leading C. elegans to A. oligospora, where the fungus traps and kills the nematodes. The entrapment of C. elegans has been observed for many years; however, the mechanism is not understood. A biosensor will be used to detect AHL production in various fungus‐nematode interactions.Support or Funding InformationThe project was supported in part by grants from the Department of Education (Award #PO31S150199), Southern California Edison and through Vanguard University's SURP Program generously supported by the Office of the Provost and the Institute for Faculty Development.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.