The Caenorhabditis elegans ABL-1 tyrosine kinase is required for Shigella flexneri pathogenesis

The development of a pathogenesis system is reported that involves the use of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for studying Shigella flexneri virulence determinants and host molecules required for pathogenesis. It is also demonstrated that ABL-1, the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of the mammalian c-Abl nonreceptor tyrosine kinase ABL1, is needed for Shigella flexneri pathogenesis in nematodes.