Vitamin b6 is essential for c. Elegans development

You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF Vitamins and other nutrients sustain systemic functions and development. However, the individual role of each macro-

and micronutrient is still unknown. _Caenorhabditis elegans_ is a good model for studying the effects of diet and nutrients on host processes, because it is possible to modify the genome of

this nematode and the genome of its diet bacteria. A study in _Communications Biology_ explores the role of bacterial vitamin B6 for _C. elegans_ embryonic development. Feeding _C. elegans_

with _Lactiplantibacillus plantarum_ or the standard feed _E. coli_ OP50 arrested development in the former group, showing that different feed nutrient availability can produce a

developmental effect. To ensure that a deficiency in ingesting the bacteria _L. plantarum_ was not responsible for the developmental arrest in this group, the researchers fed

fluorescent-stained _L. plantarum_ to the worms, which showed that the bacteria were ingested and reached the gut. When growing in presence of _L. plantarum_, the worms showed starvation

behavior, but later supplementation with _E. coli_ reversed the developmental arrest, hinting that nutrients introduced later were responsible for the developmental recovery. _C. elegans_

raised with abundant feeding on _L. plantarum_ and trace amounts of _E. coli_ completed their development, showing that trace amounts of some nutrients in _E. coli_ were enough for

development completion. To further understand the metabolic pathways affected during developmental arrest, the team screened a library of _E. coli_ mutants deficient for only one gene. Of

the 29 mutants producing developmental arrest in _C.elegans_, five lacked genes related to vitamin B6 biosynthesis. From these 5 mutants that produced developmental arrest, the _pdxH_

mutant, a gene involved in the last step to generate pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) the final metabolite of B6 synthesis, showed reversal of development arrest when the worms’ diet was

supplemented with PLP, showing that nutritional supplementation can rescue B6 synthesis. Additionally, _pdxH-_mutant-fed _C. elegans_ showed altered expression of PLP-binding B6

metabolism-related genes, showing that _E. coli_ vitamin B6 can regulate host PLP-binding activity. These results show that the deficiency of a single vitamin can affect systemic functions.

Given that metabolic pathways are evolutionarily conserved and _Lactiplantibacillus_ is a commensal bacterium found in humans and other mammals, these results provide useful insights into

host-microbiome relationships in mammals. ORIGINAL REFERENCE: Feng, M., et al. _Commun. Biol_. 7, 367 (2024) AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Lab Animal

http://www.nature.com/laban/ Jorge Ferreira Authors * Jorge Ferreira View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence

to Jorge Ferreira. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Ferreira, J. Vitamin B6 is essential for _C. elegans_ development. _Lab Anim_ 53, 113

(2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-024-01375-6 Download citation * Published: 03 May 2024 * Issue Date: May 2024 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-024-01375-6 SHARE THIS ARTICLE

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