The worm in the world and the world in the worm

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans is a preeminent model organism, but the natural ecology of this nematode has been elusive. A four-year survey of French orchards published in BMC Biology reveals thriving populations of C. elegans (and Caenorhabditis briggsae) in rotting fruit and plant stems. Rather than being simply a 'soil nematode', C. elegans appears to be a 'plant-rot nematode'. These studies signal a growing interest in the integrated genomics and ecology of these tractable animals.See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/10/59. © 2012 Blaxter and Denver; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.