Identification of genes involved in the mutualistic colonization of the nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora by the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens

Easom, Catherine A.; Joyce, Susan A.; Clarke, David J.

Identification of genes involved in the mutualistic colonization of the nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora by the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens

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Published version

Date

2010-02-11

Authors

Easom, Catherine A.

Joyce, Susan A.

Clarke, David J.

Publisher

BioMed Central

Published Version

10.1186/1471-2180-10-45

Abstract

Photorhabdus are Gram negative entomopathogenic bacteria that also have a mutualistic association with nematodes from the family Heterorhabditis. An essential part of this symbiosis is the ability of the bacterium to colonize the gut of the freeliving form of the nematode called the infective juvenile (IJ). Although the colonization process (also called transmission) has been described phenomonologically very little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms. Therefore, in this study, we were interested in identifying genes in Photorhabdus that are important for IJ colonization.

Keywords

Photorhabdus , Pathogenic interactions , Gut bacteria

Citation

Easom, C. A., Joyce, S. A. and Clarke, D. J. (2010) 'Identification of genes involved in the mutualistic colonization of the nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora by the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens', BMC Microbiology, 10(1), 45 (10 pp). doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-10-45