Sterol Metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans-Insights into Nematode Biology and Potential Control Targets

Parasitic nematodes inflict billion-dollar losses globally each year as they infect humans, livestock and plants. Exploiting fundamental biochemical differences between these parasites and their hosts could accelerate the discovery of improved control measures. One key area of biochemical difference between nematodes and their hosts is sterol biosynthesis as nematodes, unlike vertebrates, nematodes are unable to synthesise sterols de novo and therefore depend on exogenous sterols obtained from their diet or environment. However, they can extensively modify these sterols through specialised metabolic pathways, producing metabolites including C4-methylated sterols and dafachronic acids that have important roles in nematode development and physiology. This mini review focuses on sterol biochemistry and metabolism of nematodes, in particular, sterol metabolism in the model worm Caenorhabditis elegans.