Turbatrix aceti

{{Short description|Species of roundworm}}

{{missing information|wild habitat, or: what were their ancestors doing before humans made vinegar|date=January 2025}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Vinegar eels

| image = Die Frau als Hausärztin (1911) 041 Verdorbener Essig mit Essigälen.png

| image_alt = Illustration of vinegar eels

| image_caption = Illustration of vinegar eels

| genus = Turbatrix

| species = aceti

| authority = (Müller, 1783)

| synonyms =

• Anguillula aceti

| synonyms_ref =

}}

Turbatrix aceti (vinegar eels, vinegar nematode, Anguillula aceti) are free-living nematodes that feed on a microbial culture called mother of vinegar (used to create vinegar) and may be found in unfiltered vinegar. They were discovered by Pierre Borel in 1656.{{Cite web|url=http://www.chesapeakekillifish.org/page.php?26|title=The Chesapeake Area Killifish Club: Vinegar Eels|website=www.chesapeakekillifish.org|access-date=2019-01-19}}

Their environment makes them exceptionally tolerant of variation in acidity and alkalinity and they may be able to tolerate a wider range than any other species, being able to survive from pH 1.6 to 11.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qdjoTGAvrkkC&pg=PA57|title=Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints|last1=Schulze-Makuch|first1=Dirk|last2=Irwin|first2=Louis Neal|date=2008-10-02|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9783540768166|pages=57|language=en}}

Vinegar eels are often given to fry (baby fish) as a live food, like microworms.{{Cite web|url=http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/vinegar.htm|title=Vinegar Eels|date=2012-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222030658/http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/vinegar.htm|access-date=2019-01-19|archive-date=2012-02-22}} Although they are harmless and non-parasitic, leaving eels in vinegar is considered objectionable (for example, in the United States they are not permitted in vinegar destined for American consumers).{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/ucm074471.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710083727/http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/ucm074471.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 10, 2009|title=FDA: Sec. 525.825 Vinegar, Definitions - Adulteration with Vinegar Eels (CPG 7109.22)|website=fda.gov|access-date=26 September 2018}} Manufacturers normally filter and pasteurize their product prior to bottling, destroying the live bacterial and yeast culture that these nematodes require for sustenance.

At high concentration near a boundary, vinegar eels synchronize their undulations, forming a collective wave.{{cite journal|url=https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2022/sm/d1sm01572a|title=Synchronized oscillations in swarms of nematode Turbatrix aceti|year=2022 |doi=10.1039/D1SM01572A |last1=Peshkov |first1=Anton |last2=McGaffigan |first2=Sonia |last3=Quillen |first3=Alice C. |journal=Soft Matter |volume=18 |issue=6 |pages=1174–1182 |pmid=35029257 |arxiv=2104.10316 |bibcode=2022SMat...18.1174P |s2cid=235593417 }}{{cite journal|url=https://journals.aps.org/pre/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevE.104.014412|title=Metachronal waves in concentrations of swimming Turbatrix aceti nematodes and an oscillator chain model for their coordinated motions |year=2021 |doi=10.1103/PhysRevE.104.014412 |pmid=34412226 |last1=Quillen |first1=A. C. |last2=Peshkov |first2=A. |last3=Wright |first3=E. |last4=McGaffigan |first4=S. |journal=Physical Review E |volume=104 |issue=1 |page=014412 |arxiv=2101.06809 |bibcode=2021PhRvE.104a4412Q |s2cid=231661689 }}

Aging in T. aceti is associated with a decline in the ability to repair DNA damage,Targovnik HS, Locher SE, Hart TF, Hariharan PV. Age-related changes in the excision repair capacity of Turbatrix aceti. Mech Ageing Dev. 1984 Sep;27(1):73-81. doi: 10.1016/0047-6374(84)90083-6. PMID 6492888Targovnik HS, Locher SE, Hariharan PV. Age associated alteration in DNA damage and repair capacity in Turbatrix aceti exposed to ionizing radiation. Int J Radiat Biol Relat Stud Phys Chem Med. 1985 Mar;47(3):255-60. doi: 10.1080/09553008514550381. PMID 3872278 a finding that is consistent with the theory that DNA damage contributes to aging.Gensler HL, Bernstein H. DNA damage as the primary cause of aging. Q Rev Biol. 1981 Sep;56(3):279-303. doi: 10.1086/412317. PMID 7031747