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[Preprint]. 2025 Jun 5:2025.06.04.657490. [Version 2] doi: 10.1101/2025.06.04.657490

Figure 2: Ingested M. hiemalis spores germinate hyphal bodies and accumulate inside of the Caenorhabditis nematode intestine.

Figure 2:

Fluorescence micrographs of M. hiemalis growth stages stained with Direct Yellow 96 in infected wild type N2 C. elegans. Nematodes were scored for fungal growth conditions in biological triplicates. Percentage of C. elegans containing M. hiemalis spores (S), hyphae (H), and chlamydospores (C) were quantified.

(A) M. hiemalis spores are ingested by Caenorhabditis nematodes and accumulate in the intestinal lumen.

(B) Vegetative growth from spores to filamentous hyphae at the posterior end of the intestine. Chlamydospores arise from hyphal segments during asexual spore production.

(C) Accumulation of vegetative growth forms in the posterior end of the nematode.

(D) Hyphal growth breaching the intestinal lumen and into the nematode body cavity.

(E) M. hiemalis growth stage counts in N2 C. elegans across 5 days of observation by fluorescence microscopy with (E) larval stage 4, (F) adult day 1, (G) adult day 4 nematodes. Graphs show the average percentage of nematodes showing each fungal stage from 3 independent experiments combined (n = 20 for each experiment). Error bars show standard deviation.