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Updated: Jan 6, 2026

Studying Inherited Immunity in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model of Microsporidia Infection
Published on: April 6, 2022
Independent validation of transgenerational inheritance of learned pathogen avoidance in Caenorhabditis elegans
Aalimah Akinosho1, Joseph Alexander1, Kyle Floyd1
1School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, United States.
Abstract:
Previously, it was shown that learned avoidance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 in Caenorhabditis elegans can be transmitted to untrained offspring (Kaletsky et al., 2025). Here, we show an independent validation of this phenomenon under the originally specified assay conditions. Adapting the Murphy lab protocol, worms trained on PA14 develop significant avoidance that persists in F1 and F2 generations, with reduced magnitude after P0. These results align with the Murphy group's findings and address a recent report from the Hunter group that did not detect persistence beyond F1.

