EPISODE 10: Self or Snack? Peptide-Mediated Kin Recognition in Pristionchus pacificus

EPISODE 10: Self or Snack? Peptide-Mediated Kin Recognition in Pristionchus pacificus

How do predatory nematodes avoid cannibalising their own offspring? In this episode, we explore a remarkable study that uncovers a peptide-based self-recognition system in Pristionchus pacificus. This system hinges on a single hypervariable peptide, SELF-1, which allows individuals to distinguish between kin and non-kin—preventing self-killing but enabling predation on rivals.


We discuss:


  • The discovery and characterisation of the self-1 gene

  • How a single amino acid change can disrupt recognition

  • The role of hypervariable C-terminal sequences in defining identity

  • CRISPR-Cas9 experiments to map and manipulate self-recognition

  • Why this system may represent a new form of species- and strain-specific recognition in the animal kingdom



📖 Based on the research article:

“Small peptide–mediated self-recognition prevents cannibalism in predatory nematodes”

James W. Lightfoot, Martin Wilecki, Christian Rödelsperger, et al.

Published in Science (2019).

🔗 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aav9856



🎧 Subscribe to the WoRM Podcast for more on whole-organism behaviour, evolution, and molecular mechanisms of identity.

🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com


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Episoder(53)

EPISODE 53: Worms on Pause

EPISODE 53: Worms on Pause

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱⏸️Today, we are talking about worms that appear to stop living—without dying.Researchers have identified a new, reversible state of suspended animatio...

5 Aug 26min

EPISODE 52: Worms in Space: Microbiomes in a Capsule

EPISODE 52: Worms in Space: Microbiomes in a Capsule

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱🚀Today, we are looking at NemaCapsules: a new microfluidic system designed to study how host genetics and the gut microbiome influence C. elegans hea...

29 Jul 21min

EPISODE 51: The Worm Behind the Wild

EPISODE 51: The Worm Behind the Wild

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we’re looking at a review with a bold idea.Can a tiny nematode help us protect fish, amphibians, reptiles and insects from an increasingly chall...

22 Jul 16min

EPISODE 50: Fed by Mum, Built by Ribosomes

EPISODE 50: Fed by Mum, Built by Ribosomes

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we’re talking about inheritance.Not DNA.Not small RNAs.Not epigenetics.But ribosomes.⸻🧬 The central ideaWhen mother worms experience dietary re...

15 Jul 20min

EPISODE 49: Glowing up the Worm Proteome

EPISODE 49: Glowing up the Worm Proteome

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we’re looking at a paper that doesn’t answer a biological question.Instead, it builds the tools to answer thousands of biological questions in t...

8 Jul 21min

EPISODE 48: Murder Mode: How a Worm Evolved the Urge to Kill

EPISODE 48: Murder Mode: How a Worm Evolved the Urge to Kill

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we're talking about a worm with teeth.And a nervous system that has been rewired — by evolution — to become aggressive.⸻🧬 The central ideaPrist...

6 Mai 14min

EPISODE 47: When Bacteria Fight Back: Bioplastic Kills the Worm

EPISODE 47: When Bacteria Fight Back: Bioplastic Kills the Worm

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we’re talking about something unexpected.A bioplastic — something we usually think of as sustainable, useful, even beneficial —can kill a worm.⸻...

29 Apr 21min

EPISODE 46: Turning in Time: Neural Sequences in the Worm Brain

EPISODE 46: Turning in Time: Neural Sequences in the Worm Brain

Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱Today we’re looking at something deceptively simple: a turn.But not just that a worm turns —how the brain decides to do it.⸻🧬 The central ideaTurning...

22 Apr 19min

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