An insect pathogenic symbiosis between a Caenorhabditis and Serratia.

We described an association between a strain of the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae, i.e. KT0001, and the bacteria Serratia sp. SCBI (South African Caenorhabditis briggsae isolate), which was able to kill the insect Galleria. Here we show that the Serratia sp. SCBI lines the gut of the nematode, similar to the Heterorhabditis-Photorhabdus complex, indicating that the association is possibly internal. We also expand on the relevance of this tripartite, i.e. insect-nematode-bacteria, interaction in the broader evolutionary context and Caenorhabditis natural history.