![]() ![]() Remarkably, the number of offspring produced by worms having escaped a predator was not reduced compared with controls. In a second step, we attempted to determine whether the energy expended by worms to escape the predator is traded off against its reproductive potential. Peptide Mass Fingerprints of candidate protein spots suggest the existence of an intense muscular activity in escaping worms, which functions in parallel with their distinctive biology. Because water is a limited and critical resource in the ecosystem, we predicted that hairworms should adaptively. By examining the proteome of the parasitic worm, we detected a differential expression of 27 protein spots in those worms able to escape the predator. The hairworm (Nematomorpha) Paragordius tricuspidatus has the ability to alter the behaviour of its terrestrial insect host (the cricket Nemobius sylvestris), making it jump into the water to reach its reproductive habitat. ![]() Using as a model the hairworm, Paragordius tricuspidatus, (parasitizing the cricket Nemobius sylvestris) and the fish predator Micropterus salmoïdes, we explored, with proteomics tools, the physiological basis of this anti-predator response. Following the ingestion of the insect host by fish or frogs, the parasitic worm is able to actively exit both its host and the gut of the predator. One of the most fascinating anti-predator responses displayed by parasites is that of hairworms (Nematomorpha).
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