Quiescent behavior in response to bacterial infection in C. elegans

Abstract

Sickness behaviors serve an important role in recovery from infection. Using the WorMotel and a motivated displacement assay, we show that C. elegans engages in quiescent behavior following infection with Serratia marcesens , a bacterial pathogen. This quiescence is increased with increasing severity of the infection. Furthermore, we show this behavior is distinct from stress-induced sleep due to a lack of feeding quiescence and regulation by sleep-inducing neurons