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dc.contributor.authorFang-Yen, Christopher M.
dc.contributor.authorAvery, Leon
dc.contributor.authorSamuel, Aravinthan DT
dc.date.accessioned2013-03-14T14:32:34Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.identifier.citationFang-Yen, Christopher, Leon Avery, and Aravinthan D. T. Samuel. 2009. Two size-selective mechanisms specifically trap bacteria-sized food particles in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106(47): 20093-20096.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0027-8424en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10403685
dc.description.abstractCaenorhabditis elegans is a filter feeder: it draws bacteria suspended in liquid into its pharynx, traps the bacteria, and ejects the liquid. How pharyngeal pumping simultaneously transports and filters food particles has been poorly understood. Here, we use high-speed video microscopy to define the detailed workings of pharyngeal mechanics. The buccal cavity and metastomal flaps regulate the flow of dense bacterial suspensions and exclude excessively large particles from entering the pharynx. A complex sequence of contractions and relaxations transports food particles in two successive trap stages before passage into the terminal bulb and intestine. Filtering occurs at each trap as bacteria are concentrated in the central lumen while fluids are expelled radially through three apical channels. Experiments with microspheres show that the C. elegans pharynx, in combination with the buccal cavity, is tuned to specifically catch and transport particles of a size range corresponding to most soil bacteria.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipPhysicsen_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherNational Academy of Sciencesen_US
dc.relation.isversionofdoi:10.1073/pnas.0904036106en_US
dc.relation.hasversionhttp://www.pnas.org/content/106/47/20093.full.pdf+htmlen_US
dash.licenseLAA
dc.subjectfilter feedingen_US
dc.subjectpharyngeal pumpingen_US
dc.subjectpharynxen_US
dc.titleTwo Size-Selective Mechanisms Specifically Trap Bacteria-Sized Food Particles in Caenorhabditis elegansen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.description.versionVersion of Recorden_US
dc.relation.journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of Americaen_US
dash.depositing.authorSamuel, Aravinthan DT
dc.date.available2014-10-22T07:30:44Z
dc.identifier.doi10.1073/pnas.0904036106*
dash.contributor.affiliatedFang-Yen, Christopher M.
dash.contributor.affiliatedSamuel, Aravi


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