Rapid induction of vitamin B12 deficiency in Caenorhabditis elegans cultured in axenic medium

Animal models of B12 deficiency have proven to be difficult due to storage of substantial amounts in the liver and the length of time required to maintain animals on a B12 deficient diet to induce deficiency. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), due to its short lifespan, has recently emerged as an alternate model to investigate vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency. However, when C. elegans are maintained on bacterial diet, five generations of B12...