Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we flip the usual perspective.We often think about how the environment shapes the worm.But what if the worm is shaping the environment?⸻🧬 The central ideaC. elegans doesn’t just respond to microbes — it actively reshapes microbial communities.Across a naturalistic “boom-to-bust” lifecycle, worm populations:• expand rapidly• consume and interact with bacteria• then collapse into dauerAnd through that process, they leave a lasting imprint on their surroundings. ⸻🌱 What happens to the environment?Even without worms, microbial communities change over time.But with worms present, something different happens:• microbial communities follow distinct trajectories• initially different environments begin to converge• specific bacterial families are consistently depleted or enrichedIn other words, worms don’t just graze — they engineer microbial ecosystems.⸻🦠 The microbiome connectionThe key link is the worm’s own gut microbiome.Bacterial families that:• thrive inside the worm• are selected during feedingare the same ones that become enriched in the environment.While others — like Pseudomonadaceae — are depleted over time. So the worm is not just consuming bacteria.It is:• selecting• amplifying• and redistributing microbial populations⸻⚡ A bidirectional systemThis is the important shift.We move from:environment → wormto:environment ↔ wormA feedback loop where:• microbes shape the worm• worms reshape microbes• and the ecosystem evolves as a result⸻🧠 The take-home messageC. elegans is not just a model organism.It’s an ecosystem engineer.And this matters, because nematodes are one of the most abundant life forms on Earth.So small-scale interactions — feeding, microbiome assembly, population cycles — may scale up to influence:• nutrient cycling• microbial diversity• and ecosystem function⸻📄 Paper discussedBodkhe, R.; Sankaran, K.; Shapira, M. (2026)Caenorhabditis elegans populations shape their microbial environmentnpj Biofilms and MicrobiomesDOI: 10.1038/s41522-026-00975-z If you enjoyed this episode, please like, follow, and subscribe wherever you listen to the WOrM Podcast ⭐🎧 It really helps others in the community find the show.This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication or product featured on the show, please get in touch.📩 More info:🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com📧 [email protected]

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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