Better living through communal eating

Caenorhabditis elegans do not grow on either Staphylococcus saprophyticus or heat-killed Escherichia coli, but do so when exposed to both. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Geng and colleagues have identified E. coli-derived signals as well as the host's neural and innate immunity pathways that promote digestion of S. saprophyticus.

Automated summary

A recent study in Cell Host & Microbe revealed that signals from Escherichia coli, as well as the host's neural and innate immunity pathways, promote the digestion of Staphylococcus saprophyticus by Caenorhabditis elegans.