Bite size of Caenorhabditis elegans regulates feeding, satiety and development on a diet of live yeast

TY - JOUR

T1 - Bite size of Caenorhabditis elegans regulates feeding, satiety and development on a diet of live yeast

AU - De, Atreyee

AU - Sahu, Amit K.

AU - Singh, Varsha

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © Indian Academy of Sciences 2025.

PY - 2025/8/20

Y1 - 2025/8/20

N2 - In the wild, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans primarily feeds on microbes, which are abundant in rotting vegetation. Studies show that several gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial populations predominantly constitute the C. elegans gut microbiome, but surprisingly lack any yeast species. To understand the lack of yeast in the intestine of C. elegans, we studied the behaviour of worms on pathogenic and non-pathogenic yeast diets. We show that C. elegans displays low satiety on a yeast diet of Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus laurentii or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find that the average size of cells of budding yeast is much larger than that of Escherichia coli, which constitute the laboratory diet of C. elegans. We have shown that yeast cells cause pharyngeal obstruction, diminished feeding, and lower level of neutral lipids in adult C. elegans. Using scanning electron microscopy, we show that the mouth size of C. elegans larvae is smaller than the average yeast cell. The larvae have no detectable yeast in their alimentary canal, and they undergo delayed development on a yeast diet. We propose that microbial cell size or bite size could be crucial factors in the regulation of feeding in C. elegans, and the composition of the microbiome in its intestine.

AB - In the wild, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans primarily feeds on microbes, which are abundant in rotting vegetation. Studies show that several gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial populations predominantly constitute the C. elegans gut microbiome, but surprisingly lack any yeast species. To understand the lack of yeast in the intestine of C. elegans, we studied the behaviour of worms on pathogenic and non-pathogenic yeast diets. We show that C. elegans displays low satiety on a yeast diet of Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus laurentii or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We find that the average size of cells of budding yeast is much larger than that of Escherichia coli, which constitute the laboratory diet of C. elegans. We have shown that yeast cells cause pharyngeal obstruction, diminished feeding, and lower level of neutral lipids in adult C. elegans. Using scanning electron microscopy, we show that the mouth size of C. elegans larvae is smaller than the average yeast cell. The larvae have no detectable yeast in their alimentary canal, and they undergo delayed development on a yeast diet. We propose that microbial cell size or bite size could be crucial factors in the regulation of feeding in C. elegans, and the composition of the microbiome in its intestine.

KW - Caenorhabditis elegans

KW - Cryptococcus neoformans

KW - exploratory behaviour

KW - microbiome

KW - satiety

KW - yeast diet

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013787049

U2 - 10.1007/s12038-025-00547-x

DO - 10.1007/s12038-025-00547-x

M3 - Article

C2 - 40843619

AN - SCOPUS:105013787049

SN - 0250-5991

VL - 50

JO - Journal of Biosciences

JF - Journal of Biosciences

IS - 3

M1 - 67

ER -