Long Live the Worm!

There are three main types of relationships between hosts and the organisms that reside in them, parasitism, mutualism and commensalism. Mutualism describes the relationship in which both the host and the residing organism benefit from one another. Commensalism describes the relationship where one organism in the relationship benefits while the other neither benefits nor suffers. Parasitism, is the least favorable relationship out of the three and describes a relationship where the organism residing within the host benefits from the relationship while the host loses. Now it is understandable that the thought of trillions of other organisms sharing your bodily space can give you the skeevies. Fact is, being a host can have its advantages, particularly if you are a nematode worm (Caenorhabditis elegans).

Figure 1: nematode worm (Caenorhabditis elegans) 

Turns out that some of the residents in this worm affect its ageing rate. The catch? Just have some small strains of E. coli. in your system, no biggie!  Fortunately for the worm though this bacterium secretes small, short lived free radicals such as nitric oxide (NO). This is a good thing for this worm as the C. Elegans does not posses the enzymes that produce NO. It was noted during a study that without these NO free radicals, the worms lifespan was reduced!  .... Thank you Mr E. coli!

Now don't be getting excited and volunteering for hosting some E. coli. NO is naturally produced in humans, so now the only thing to lengthen your life is some healthy eating and living life to the fullest! If you were interested in reading a more in depth and scientific version of my fairy tale then check out the references below!

References:

-   Heintz, C. & Mair, W. 2014, "You are what you host: microbiome modulation of the aging process", Cell, vol. 156, no. 3, pp. 408-411.

-   Weitzberg, E. & Lundberg, J.O. 1998, "Nonenzymatic nitric oxide production in humans", Nitric Oxide, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 1-1

Picture References

Figure 1: http://www.news.wisc.edu/newsphotos/kimble.html by Anonymous, retrieved on the 12/03/14