This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dennehy, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Turner, P. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dennehy, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Turner, P. E.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Dennehy, J. J.
Right arrow Articles by Turner, P. E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2006, p. 1974-1979, Vol. 72, No. 3
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.3.1974-1979.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Bacteriophage Migration via Nematode Vectors: Host-Parasite-Consumer Interactions in Laboratory Microcosms

John J. Dennehy,1 Nicholas A. Friedenberg,2 Yul W. Yang,1 and Paul E. Turner1*

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520,1 Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 037552

Received 29 November 2005/ Accepted 5 January 2006

Pathogens vectored by nematodes pose serious agricultural, economic, and health threats; however, little is known of the ecological and evolutionary aspects of pathogen transmission by nematodes. Here we describe a novel model system with two trophic levels, bacteriophages and nematodes, each of which competes for bacteria. We demonstrate for the first time that nematodes are capable of transmitting phages between spatially distinct patches of bacteria. This model system has considerable advantages, including the ease of maintenance and manipulation at the laboratory bench, the ability to observe many generations in short periods, and the capacity to freeze evolved strains for later comparison to their ancestors. More generally, experimental studies of complex multispecies interactions, host-pathogen coevolution, disease dynamics, and the evolution of virulence may benefit from this model system because current models (e.g., chickens, mosquitoes, and malaria parasites) are costly to maintain, are difficult to manipulate, and require considerable space. Our initial explorations centered on independently assessing the impacts of nematode, bacterium, and phage population densities on virus migration between host patches. Our results indicated that virus transmission increases with worm density and host bacterial abundance; however, transmission decreases with initial phage abundance, perhaps because viruses eliminate available hosts before migration can occur. We discuss the microbial growth dynamics that underlie these results, suggest mechanistic explanations for nematode transmission of phages, and propose intriguing possibilities for future research.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Yale University, 165 Prospect St., P.O. Box 208106, New Haven, CT 06520-8106. Phone: (203) 432-5918. Fax: (203) 432-5176. E-mail: paul.turner{at}yale.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2006, p. 1974-1979, Vol. 72, No. 3
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.3.1974-1979.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»