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WOrM Podcast: Whole Organism Analytics Podcast

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by WOrM | Whole Organism Analytics

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48 episodes
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Podcast Overview

Join Dr Veeren Chauhan (University of Nottingham) as he explores whole-organism analytics, revealing how life adapts, interacts, and evolves. From nematodes to next-generation analytical tools, expect deep dives into cutting-edge research, expert insights and the discoveries shaping biology, medicine, and ecology. This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch. 📩 More info: 🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com 📧 veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk

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Recent Episodes

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

May 6, 2026

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

<p>Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱</p><p>Today we&#39;re talking about a worm with teeth.</p><p>And a nervous system that has been rewired — by evolution — to become aggressive.</p><p>⸻</p><p>🧬 The central idea</p><p>Pristionchus pacificus is a predatory nematode.</p><p>It kills C. elegans larvae.</p><p>Sometimes for food.</p><p>Sometimes just to remove a competitor.</p><p>But how does its brain decide to attack?</p><p>⸻</p><p>🔬 What&#39;s actually going on?</p><p>This is not just predation.</p><p>It is a distinct behavioural state — aggression —</p><p>driven by a specific neurochemical system.</p><p>The researchers used machine learning to identify six distinct behavioural states:</p><ul><li>roaming and dwelling — shared with C. elegans</li><li>predatory search, predatory biting, predatory feeding — unique to a predatory context</li></ul><p>The worm doesn&#39;t attack randomly.</p><p>It switches modes.</p><p>⸻</p><p>⚡ Two chemicals. Opposite effects.</p><p>The key twist is this:</p><ul><li><strong>Octopamine</strong> pushes the worm into aggressive, predatory states</li><li><strong>Tyramine</strong> pulls it back into passive, docile states</li></ul><p>They act antagonistically — like a switch.</p><p>Remove octopamine → the worm stops attacking.</p><p>Remove tyramine as well → aggression returns.</p><p>⸻</p><p>🧠 The receptors tell the story</p><p>Two octopamine receptors are required: Ppa-ser-3 and Ppa-ser-6.</p><p>One tyramine receptor mediates the passive state: Ppa-lgc-55.</p><p>Crucially — these receptors are expressed in <strong>sensory neurons</strong> at the worm&#39;s nose.</p><p>Specifically, the IL2 neurons.</p><p>These are the first point of contact between predator and prey.</p><p>Silence the IL2 neurons → aggression drops.</p><p>⸻</p><p>🧠 A rewired circuit</p><p>In C. elegans, octopamine and tyramine do completely different things — fasting signals, escape responses.</p><p>In P. pacificus, evolution has repurposed these same molecules to regulate <strong>aggression</strong>.</p><p>The neurons producing them are conserved.</p><p>The function has diverged.</p><p>This is circuit-level evolutionary innovation.</p><p>⸻</p><p>🧠 Ancient and widespread</p><p>The same octopamine-aggression link was found in Allodiplogaster sudhausi —</p><p>a distant relative in the Diplogastridae family.</p><p>So this adaptation is not unique to P. pacificus.</p><p>It emerged early, in the predatory lineage — and stuck.</p><p>⸻</p><p>🌍 The bigger picture</p><p>This paper shows that:</p><ul><li>new behaviours can evolve through repurposing of existing neurochemical systems</li><li>the same molecules can serve completely different functions in closely related species</li><li>sensory neurons are a key site of neuromodulatory innovation</li></ul><p>Evolution doesn&#39;t always build from scratch.</p><p>Sometimes it just rewires what&#39;s already there.</p><p>⸻</p><p>🧠 The take-home message</p><p>A predatory worm evolved aggression</p><p>not through new neurons,</p><p>but through new ways of using old chemistry.</p><p>Octopamine and tyramine — present across invertebrates —</p><p>were redeployed to gate an entirely new behavioural state.</p><p>That is elegant. And slightly terrifying.</p><p>⸻</p><p>📄 Paper discussed</p><p>Eren, G. G.; Böger, L.; Roca, M.; Hiramatsu, F.; Liu, J.; Alvarez, L.; Goetting, D. L.; Cockram, L. A.; Zorn, N.; Han, Z.; Okumura, M.; Scholz, M.; Lightfoot, J. W. (2026)Predatory aggression evolved through adaptations to noradrenergic circuitsNature, Vol 651<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10009-x">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10009-x</a></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, please like, follow, and subscribe wherever you listen to the WOrM Podcast ⭐🎧 It really helps others in the community find the show.</p><p>This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you&#39;d like your publication or product featured on the show, please get in touch.</p><p>📩 More info:🔗 <a href="http://www.veerenchauhan.com">www.veerenchauhan.com</a>📧 <a href="mailto:veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk">veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk</a></p>

Episode thumbnail for EPISODE 47: When Bacteria Fight Back: Bioplastic Kills the Worm

April 29, 2026

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

<p>Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱</p><p><br></p><p>Today we’re talking about something unexpected.</p><p><br></p><p>A <strong>bioplastic</strong> — something we usually think of as sustainable, useful, even beneficial —</p><p><br></p><p><strong>can kill a worm.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧬 <strong>The central idea</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Some bacteria produce a polymer called <strong>polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>It’s a carbon storage material.</p><p>A bioplastic.</p><p><br></p><p>But when C. elegans eats bacteria packed with PHB —</p><p><br></p><p><strong>it dies.</strong>  </p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🔬 <strong>What’s actually going on?</strong></p><p><br></p><p>This is not classic toxicity.</p><p>It’s not a signalling pathway.</p><p><br></p><p>It’s <strong>physical and systemic failure</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>PHB accumulates inside the bacteria, and when ingested:</p><p><br></p><p>• the <strong>pharynx becomes deformed</strong></p><p>• the <strong>intestine distends</strong></p><p>• the <strong>gut barrier breaks down</strong></p><p>• the <strong>defecation programme fails</strong>  </p><p><br></p><p>The worm can’t process what it’s eating.</p><p><br></p><p>It gets blocked.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>⚡ <strong>Metabolism drives the effect</strong></p><p><br></p><p>The key twist is this:</p><p><br></p><p>PHB is only produced under certain metabolic conditions —</p><p>when bacteria have <strong>excess carbon</strong> (like lactate or pyruvate).  </p><p><br></p><p>So the same bacteria can be:</p><p><br></p><p>• harmless</p><p>• or lethal</p><p><br></p><p>depending on <strong>what they’re fed</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>This is not just host–pathogen.</p><p>It’s <strong>host–microbe–metabolism</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>Cause and effect, proven cleanly</strong></p><p><br></p><p>They show this properly:</p><p><br></p><p>• knock out PHB production → worms survive</p><p>• engineer E. coli to make PHB → worms die</p><p><br></p><p>So PHB is not correlated.</p><p><br></p><p>It is <strong>sufficient to kill</strong>.  </p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>The mechanism is mechanical</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Inside the worm:</p><p><br></p><p>• PHB granules accumulate</p><p>• the gut becomes <strong>physically obstructed</strong></p><p>• calcium waves that drive defecation become irregular or stop</p><p>• the system collapses</p><p><br></p><p>This is behaviour and physiology breaking down from the inside.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>A partial rescue — and a clue</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Mutations in <strong>nuc-1</strong> rescue about half the animals.  </p><p><br></p><p>This gene normally helps digest bacterial DNA.</p><p><br></p><p>Without it:</p><p><br></p><p>• worms process PHB-containing food differently</p><p>• less blockage occurs</p><p>• survival improves</p><p><br></p><p>So digestion itself is part of the failure mode.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🌍 <strong>The bigger picture</strong></p><p><br></p><p>This matters because:</p><p><br></p><p>• many bacteria in natural worm environments can produce PHB</p><p>• PHB production depends on <strong>nutrient context</strong></p><p>• host survival depends on <strong>bacterial metabolism, not just species</strong></p><p><br></p><p>So ecology is not static.</p><p><br></p><p>It’s <strong>state-dependent chemistry interacting with biology</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>The take-home message</strong></p><p><br></p><p>This is not about a toxin.</p><p><br></p><p>It’s about <strong>material inside bacteria becoming lethal through ingestion</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>And more broadly:</p><p><br></p><p><strong>what microbes make — and when they make it — can reshape host physiology completely.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>📄 <strong>Paper discussed</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Giese, G. E.; Richards, D. M.; Florman, J. T.; Starbard, A. N.; Xu, A. A.; Durning, D. J.; Alkema, M. J.; Walhout, A. J. M. (2026)</p><p>Bacteria producing the bioplastic polyhydroxybutyrate kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans</p><p><strong>PLOS Biology</strong></p><p>https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003748</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, please <strong>like, follow, and subscribe</strong> wherever you listen to the WOrM Podcast ⭐🎧 It really helps others in the community find the show.</p><p><br></p><p>This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication or product featured on the show, please get in touch.</p><p><br></p><p>📩 More info:</p><p>🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com</p><p>📧 veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk</p>

Episode thumbnail for EPISODE 46: Turning in Time: Neural Sequences in the Worm Brain

April 22, 2026

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

<p>Welcome to the next episode of the WOrM Podcast 🪱</p><p><br></p><p>Today we’re looking at something deceptively simple: <strong>a turn</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>But not just that a worm turns —</p><p><br></p><p><strong>how the brain decides to do it.</strong></p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧬 <strong>The central idea</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Turning in C. elegans is not a reflex.</p><p><br></p><p>It’s a <strong>sequence</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>A structured, repeatable pattern of neural activity that links:</p><p>• sensation</p><p>• decision</p><p>• and movement</p><p><br></p><p>into a single behavioural output.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🔬 <strong>What’s really happening?</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Using whole-brain calcium imaging, this study captures activity across the nervous system during olfactory navigation.</p><p><br></p><p>What emerges is clear:</p><p><br></p><p>• turns act as <strong>error-correction events</strong></p><p>• they occur when the worm deviates from its path</p><p>• and they are executed through <strong>ordered neural sequences</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Each turn is not random.</p><p>It is built.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>⚡ <strong>A sequence, not a signal</strong></p><p><br></p><p>During a turn:</p><p><br></p><p>• specific neurons activate</p><p>• in a <strong>stereotyped order</strong></p><p>• across time</p><p><br></p><p>Some neurons respond to sensory cues.</p><p>Others anticipate the <strong>direction of the upcoming turn</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>This is not reaction.</p><p><br></p><p>It is <strong>prediction unfolding in time</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>The role of modulation</strong></p><p><br></p><p>A key player here is <strong>tyramine</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>It helps coordinate these neural sequences —</p><p><br></p><p>linking circuit structure to <strong>dynamic control of behaviour</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>So the system is not just wired.</p><p>It is tuned.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>🧠 <strong>The take-home message</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Behaviour is not the output of single neurons.</p><p><br></p><p>It is the product of <strong>time-ordered neural activity</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>In this case:</p><p>sensory input → neural sequence → predicted action</p><p><br></p><p>And the shift is important:</p><p><br></p><p>To understand behaviour, we need to think in <strong>time</strong>, not just space.</p><p><br></p><p>⸻</p><p><br></p><p>📄 <strong>Paper discussed</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Kramer, T. S.; Wan, F. K.; Pugliese, S. M.; Atanas, A. A.; Pradhan, S.; Hiser, A. W.; Godinez, L. M.; Luo, J.; Bueno, E.; Felt, T.; Flavell, S. W. (2026)</p><p>Neural sequences underlying directed turning in Caenorhabditis elegans</p><p><strong>Nature</strong></p><p>https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-026-02257-5</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, please <strong>like, follow, and subscribe</strong> wherever you listen to the WOrM Podcast ⭐🎧 It really helps others in the community find the show.</p><p><br></p><p>This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.</p><p><br></p><p>📩 More info:</p><p>🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com</p><p>📧 veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk</p><p><br></p>

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What is WOrM Podcast: Whole Organism Analytics Podcast?

Join Dr Veeren Chauhan (University of Nottingham) as he explores whole-organism analytics, revealing how life adapts, interacts, and evolves.

From nematodes to next-generation analytical tools, expect deep dives into cutting-edge research, expert insights and the discoveries shaping biology, medicine, and ecology.

This podcast is generated with artificial intelligence and curated by Veeren. If you’d like your publication featured on the show, please get in touch.

📩 More info: 🔗 www.veerenchauhan.com 📧 veeren.chauhan@nottingham.ac.uk

How often does this podcast release new episodes?

This podcast updates daily.

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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.

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