A Delicate Balance between Bacterial Iron and Reactive Oxygen Species Supports Optimal C. elegans Development (Cell Host & Microbe)

Zhang et al. identify more than 200 E. coli deletion mutants that, when fed to C. elegans as diet, slow animal development. This phenotype can be rescued by iron or anti-oxidant supplementation, indicating that low bacterial iron causes oxidative stress in the animal, which in turn decelerates development.