# C. elegans under starvation produce proteinaceous material that supports collective aggregation into web-like structures

## TL;DR

Starving C. elegans worms create a protein-rich material that helps them form web-like structures together.

## Contribution

Discovery of a novel proteinaceous material produced by starved C. elegans that facilitates collective aggregation.

## Key findings

- Starved C. elegans secrete a protein-rich, mucoid substance that supports aggregation into web-like structures.
- The substance is likely composed of cuticles, dead worm remnants, and yolk.
- The material is both secreted and consumed by C. elegans under starvation conditions.

## Abstract

We observed the aggregation of starved
C. elegans
into web-like patterns scaffolded by an unknown chemoattractive extracellular substance that is protein-rich, mucoid, water-insoluble, elastic, and likely to be both secreted and consumed by
C. elegans
. Under time-lapse imaging, we observed the formation of both the aggregation structures and the proteinaceous substance after populating an NGM plate with 100-200 worms and letting them starve over seven days. We preliminarily characterized the substance using Coomassie, WGA, and DAPI staining. We surmise that the substance may be composed of cuticles, remnants of dead worms, and worm yolk.