Commensals, probiotics and pathogens in the Caenorhabditis elegans model.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a useful model host for a wide variety of microorganisms that have implications for human health. Recent surveys of mammalian and metazoan microbiota demonstrate the often profound effects of gut commensal bacteria on host lifespan, health and development. Work using C. elegans has revealed the surprising extent to which bacterial metabolism can interact with host pathways with examples from Escherichia coli folate metabolism and Bacillus subtilis nitric oxide synthesis. The C. elegans model has also shed light on the mechanisms by which probiotic bacteria influence lifespan.