The Worm Podcast30 Apr 2025

EPISODE 11: Slip the Noose – How C. elegans Dodges Deadly Fungal Traps

In this episode, we explore a real-world predator–prey arms race: how Caenorhabditis elegans uses its anterior touch response to escape predacious fungi. Species like Drechslerella doedycoides use constricting hyphal rings to trap nematodes in soil. But thanks to mechanosensory neurons and fast reflexes, C. elegans larvae can sense the noose and back out — if they’re fast enough.

We dive into:

The mechanics of fungal ring traps and the escape window before closure
How C. elegans suppresses head movement and reverses direction to evade capture
Why touch-insensitive and tyramine signalling mutants get caught more often
How coordination of motor programmes evolved under selective pressure from fungal predators

📖 Based on the research article:

“The C. elegans Touch Response Facilitates Escape from Predacious Fungi”

Sean M. Maguire, Christopher M. Clark, Jennifer K. Pirri, Mark J. Alkema.

Published in Current Biology (2011).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.06.063

🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more whole-organism insights at the edge of neuroethology, evolution, and behaviour.

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info:

🔗 ⁠www.veerenchauhan.com⁠

📧 veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk

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