Quiescent behavior in response to bacterial infection in <i>C. elegans</i>.

Sickness behaviors serve an important role in recovery from infection. Using the WorMotel and a motivated displacement assay, we show that <i>C. elegans</i> engages in quiescent behavior following infection with <i>Serratia marcesens</i> , a bacterial pathogen. This quiescence is increased with increasing severity of the infection. Furthermore, we show this behavior is distinct from stress-induced sleep due to a lack of feeding quiescence and regulation by sleep-inducing neurons.