It seems that all animals have some way to exchange information. The monkeys vocalized complex messages, ants create scent trails to places where there is food, and the fireflies light up their bellies to attract mates. But while the nematode worms are among the most abundant animals on the planet, little is known about how they communicate with each other.
Now, new research has shown that a wide range of nematode worms is communicated by a class of recently discovered chemical signals.
In a previous study conducted by the laboratory of Frank C. Schroeder, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, it was shown that a well-studied nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans, using certain chemical signals to exchange information. What was not known whether other worms of the same edge talk to each other in similar ways.
In the new study, the Schroeder group has collaborated with Paul Sternberg of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, to clarify the above question of whether other worms that edge communicate with each other.
By examining various nematode worms, researchers have found to their surprise that worms combined and analyzed using the same types of chemicals in their communications. I discovered could be described as the discovery of the letters or words of a universal language of nematode worms, the syntax of which scientists still know only superficially. Everything suggests that many nematode worms, perhaps all communicate using the same language, which is based on small secreted molecules to construct chemical structures that function as words.
Pinworms are a wide range of creatures have been found in hot springs, arctic ice, and seafloor sediments. Many types of nematode worms are harmless or even beneficial, but others cause damage to plants, animals and humans. Deciphering the language of these worms could allow more effective strategies, cheap and friendly environment, to prevent the spread of species of nematode worms harmful to human health and livestock, pets and crops.
The investigation was also worked by Andrea Choe and Dima Kogan at Caltech, Stephan H. von Reuss of Cornell University, USA, Edward G. Platzer of UC Riverside, and Robin B. Gasser, University of Melbourne in Australia.