Orsay virus infection is associated with reduced locomotion and alters cue-dependent food choice in Caenorhabditis elegans

Orsay virus infection in Caenorhabditis elegans is associated with lower locomotion and reduced dispersal, and it also reshapes cue-dependent food choice.

• Why it matters: Most C. elegans behavioral host-defense evidence has focused on bacterial pathogens, leaving how natural viral infection affects dispersal and feeding cues unclear.
• What they did: Wild-type animals were compared for distance traveled after Orsay virus exposure, and infected versus control worms were tested in food-choice assays under different sensory contexts; EOL-1 loss was also examined.
• The result: EOL-1 deletion altered baseline motility and attenuated the infection-linked locomotion reduction, while also modifying the food-choice pattern, implying EOL-1 modulates OrV-induced behavioral changes.

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