Study
Nematode-trapping fungi eavesdrop on nematode pheromones
Hsueh, Yen-Ping; Mahanti, Parag; Schroeder, Frank C.; Sternberg, Paul W.
Current Biology, 2013
Exposed nematode-trapping fungi to purified ascarosides — the small molecules nematodes use to signal to one another — in the absence of any worms, and recorded whether traps were produced.
- Studied in
- Arthrobotrys, Caenorhabditis elegans
- Sample size
- fungal cultures exposed to purified nematode pheromones
The fungi produced traps in response to the pheromones alone, without any nematode present. Different fungal species responded to different ascarosides, and the response was concentration-dependent.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
These fungi detect prey by intercepting the chemical signals nematodes use to communicate with each other, and use that information to decide when to build traps.
How NatureHQ reads it
The finding that makes this a signalling story rather than only a hunting one. The worms are talking to each other; the fungus is listening. It is the same eavesdropping logic that runs through the alarm-call pages, arriving in soil between a fungus and an animal, and it demonstrates prey detection in an organism with no sense organs at all.
- Purified compounds in culture, which isolates the cue at the cost of realism.
- Species differ in which ascarosides they respond to, so this is not one uniform mechanism across the group.
The chemical without the worm
A trapping fungus builds traps when nematodes are present. Is it responding to the animals themselves, or to the chemicals they release?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Predatory fungi
The fungus knows when worms are near because it listens to them. It builds traps in response to the chemical signals nematodes use to communicate with each other — with no worm present at all.
Predatory fungi
The fungus does not only listen. Trap-bearing cultures release volatiles resembling nematode sex pheromone and food odours, and worms follow them in — deception, practised by something with no nervous system.
Published by: Cell PressPublished in a Cell Press journal.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.035
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.