Elevator Pitch

• Recent research confirms that Caenorhabditis elegans can transmit learned avoidance of the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa across generations, though experimental protocols critically influence reproducibility.

Key Takeaways

• Learned avoidance of P. aeruginosa in C. elegans can be inherited by at least two generations (F1 and F2) without new exposure.
• Differences in experimental protocols, particularly in worm immobilization methods, explain conflicting results between research groups.
• A small RNA (P11) from PA14 is necessary for this transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, but environmental and procedural factors can impact detection.

Most Memorable Quotes

• "Learned avoidance of the PA14 strain of P. aeruginosa could be transmitted for up to four generations of C. elegans without new exposure to PA14."
• "The Murphy group proposed that the use of azide ensured that animals were captured in their initial response, which prevented them from learning to avoid PA14 after encountering it during the assay."
• "The results of the Vidal-Gadea group, therefore, represent an important validation of the work of the Murphy group, and support the idea that procedural modifications made by the Hunter group contributed to their inability to observe transgenerational epigenetic inheritance."