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Pseudomonas Methods and Protocols pp 653–669Cite as

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 Pathogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1149))

Abstract

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a simple model host for studying the interaction between bacterial pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the metazoan innate immune system. Powerful genetic and molecular tools in both C. elegans and P. aeruginosa facilitate the identification and analysis of bacterial virulence factors as well as host defense factors. Here we describe three different assays that use the C. elegans–P. aeruginosa strain PA14 host-pathogen system. Fast Killing is a toxin-mediated death that depends on a diffusible toxin produced by PA14 but not on live bacteria. Slow Killing is due to an active infection in which bacteria colonize the C. elegans intestinal lumen. Liquid Killing is designed for high-throughput screening of chemical libraries for anti-infective compounds. Each assay has unique features and, interestingly, the PA14 virulence factors involved in killing are different in each assay.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Natalia V. Kirienko, Brent O. Cezairliyan & Frederick M. Ausubel

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Natalia V. Kirienko, Brent O. Cezairliyan & Frederick M. Ausubel

  3. Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N. Washington Street, Gettysburg, PA, 17325, USA

    Jennifer R. Powell

Authors
  1. Natalia V. Kirienko
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  2. Brent O. Cezairliyan
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  3. Frederick M. Ausubel
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  4. Jennifer R. Powell
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer R. Powell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection (CMBI) Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College, London, UK

    Alain Filloux

  2. Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada, Spain

    Juan-Luis Ramos

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Kirienko, N.V., Cezairliyan, B.O., Ausubel, F.M., Powell, J.R. (2014). Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 Pathogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans . In: Filloux, A., Ramos, JL. (eds) Pseudomonas Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1149. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0473-0_50

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0473-0_50

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0472-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-0473-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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