Heme requirement for reproduction of a free-living nematode

The free-living hermaphroditic nematode Caernorhabditis briggsae has a nutritional requirement for heme. The organism can be subcultured repeatedly in a chemically defined axenic medium that contains autoclaved bacterial cells (Escherichia coli) and sterols if a hemeprotein-containing fraction from liver is present. Pure myoglobin, hemoglobin, cytochrome c, and hemin, respectively, can substitute effectively for the liver fraction.