Fig. 3
From: Caenorhabditis elegans as a powerful tool in natural product bioactivity research
Utility of the C. elegans model in anti-infective studies. Following the in vitro test of antimicrobial activities of candidates from natural product (NP) libraries, C. elegans is useful for in vivo screening of the anti-infective effects regarding the host-microorganism-NP interaction. The toxicity and antimicrobial efficacy of NPs can be simultaneously checked using lifespan-based assays. The modulation of host–pathogen interactions by NPs such as immune induction or quorum sensing inhibition can be further characterized. Mutants worms and molecular tools are also available to reveal the underlying mechanism and signaling pathways