Tobacco extract is a chemotaxis repellent for C. elegans

Plants synthesize compounds that interact with animal nervous systems to avoid predation, but the behavioral effects and underlying mechanisms of commonly encountered plant natural products remain understudied. We tested whether cannabis, ginger root, pepper tree, saffron, and tobacco extracts elicit chemotaxis responses in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans . We found that tobacco extract repels C. elegans , whereas the other tested plant extracts did not have a significant effect on behavior. These experiments were conducted in an undergraduate laboratory course, providing both research training and new insights into plant-animal interactions.