Why is propanoic acid often added to the diet of C. elegans?

Question

And what are its effects on C. elegans?

The paper is Burnett C, Valentini S, Cabreiro F, Goss M, Somogyvári M, Piper MD, Hoddinott M, Sutphin GL, Leko V, McElwee JJ, et al.. 2011. Absence of effects of Sir2 overexpression on lifespan in C. elegans and Drosophila. Nature 477: 482–5.

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 04 '12 at 09:29

10

Propanoic acid is toxic against many types of mold, fungi and bacteria (wiki), but same time has almost no effect to C. elegans ("fivefold less", reference). This is why propanoic acids and (more commmon) its salts are used as conservants for C.elegans cultures (as well as for other animals, like Drosophila).

answered Mar 04 '12 at 09:29

Alexander Galkin

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Another anti-fungal compound we use in our fly lab is methylparaben. – May 17 '12 at 18:04
We use nystatin. I don't think the use of propanoic acid with C elegans is that common. Fly people use it a lot. – Leon Avery Jan 27 '15 at 14:00

Why is propanoic acid often added to the diet of C. elegans?

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