Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 16, 2025

Visualizing Bacteria in Nematodes using Fluorescent Microscopy
Published on: October 19, 2012
Nematode endosymbiont competition: Fortune favors the fittest
Christa Heryanto1, Ioannis Eleftherianos1
1Infection and Innate Immunity Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University, Science and Engineering Hall, 800 22nd Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20052, USA.
Abstract:
Endosymbiotic bacteria that obligately associate with entomopathogenic nematodes as a complex are a unique model system to study competition. These nematodes seek an insect host and provide entry for their endosymbionts. Through their natural products, the endosymbionts nurture their nematodes by eliminating secondary infection, providing nutrients through bioconversion of the insect cadaver, and facilitating reproduction. On one hand, they cooperatively colonize the insect host and neutralize other opportunistic biotic threats. On the other hand, inside the insect cadaver as a fighting pit, they fiercely compete for the fittest partnership that will grant them the reproductive dominance. Here, we review the protective and nurturing nature of endosymbiotic bacteria for their nematodes and how their selective preference shapes the superior nematode-endosymbiont pairs as we know today.
Related Concept Videos
Competition
Diversity of Protists I
Symbiosis
Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores
Diversity of Protists II
Frequency-dependent Selection

