AUTHOR=Schelkle Bettina , Choi Young , Baillie Leslie W. , Richter William , Buyuk Fatih , Celik Elif , Wendling Morgan , Sahin Mitat , Gallagher Theresa 

TITLE=Caenorhabditis elegans Predation on Bacillus anthracis: Decontamination of Spore Contaminated Soil with Germinants and Nematodes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02601

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2017.02601

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Remediation of <italic>Bacillus anthracis</italic>-contaminated soil is challenging and approaches to reduce overall spore levels in environmentally contaminated soil or after intentional release of the infectious disease agent in a safe, low-cost manner are needed. <italic>B. anthracis</italic> spores are highly resistant to biocides, but once germinated they become susceptible to traditional biocides or potentially even natural predators such as nematodes in the soil environment. Here, we describe a two-step approach to reducing <italic>B. anthracis</italic> spore load in soil during laboratory trials, whereby germinants and <italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</italic> nematodes are applied concurrently. While the application of germinants reduced <italic>B. anthracis</italic> spore load by up to four logs depending on soil type, the addition of nematodes achieved a further log reduction in spore count. These laboratory based results suggest that the combined use of nematodes and germinants could represent a promising approach for the remediation of <italic>B. anthracis</italic> spore contaminated soil.</p><p><bold>Originality-Significance Statement:</bold> This study demonstrates for the first time the successful use of environmentally friendly decontamination methods to inactivate <italic>Bacillus anthracis</italic> spores in soil using natural predators of the bacterium, nematode worms.</p>