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Murungi MK, Machuka EM, Blaxter M, Njoroge SM, Odinga CO, Momanyi K, Rooke S, Ogendo A, Ogola J, Fevre EM, Stevens L, Falzon LC
[
Curr Biol,
2020]
The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is akey laboratory model for metazoan biology. C.elegans has also become a model for parasitic nematodes despite being only distantly related to most parasitic species. All of the 65 Caenorhabditis species currently in culture are free-living, with most having been isolated from decaying plant or fungal matter. Caenorhabditis bovis is a particularly unusual species that has been isolated several times from the inflamed ears of Zebu cattle in Eastern Africa, where it is associated with thedisease bovine parasitic otitis. C.bovis is therefore of particular interest to researchers interested in the evolution of nematode parasitism. However, as C.bovis is not in laboratory culture, it remains little studied. Here, by sampling livestock markets and slaughterhouses in Western Kenya, we successfully reisolated C.bovis from the ear of adult female Zebu. We sequenced the genome of C.bovis using the Oxford Nanopore MinION platform in a nearby field laboratory and used the data to generate a chromosome-scaledraft genome sequence. We exploited this draft genome sequence to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of C.bovis to other Caenorhabditis species and reveal the changes in genome size and content that have occurred during its evolution. We also identified expansions in several gene families that have been implicated in parasitism in other nematode species. The high-quality draft genome and our analyses thereof represent a significant advancement in our understanding of this unusual Caenorhabditis species.
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[
International Worm Meeting,
2015]
The sequencing of the genome of Caenorhabditis elegans remains one of the milestones of modern biology, and this genome sequence is the essential backdrop to a vast body of work on this key model organism. "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" (Dobzhansky) and thus it is clear that complete understanding of C. elegans will only be achieved when it is placed in an evolutionary context. While several additional Caenorhabditis genomes have been published or made available, a recent surge in the number of available species in culture makes the determination of the genomes of all the species in the genus a timely and rewarding project.We have initiated the Caenorhabditis Genomes Project. From material supplied by collaborators we have so far generated raw Illumina short-insert data for sixteen species. Where possible we have also generated mixed stage stranded RNASeq data for annotation. The data are being made publicly available as early as possible (warts-and-all) through a dedicated genome website at htttp://caenorhabditis.bio.ed.ac.uk, and completed genomes and annotations will be deposited in WormBase as mature assemblies emerge. We welcome additional collaborators to the CGP, whether to assemble new genomes or to delve into the evolutionary history of favourite gene sets and systems.Species sequenced thus far in Edinburgh: Caenorhabditis afra, Caenorhabditis castelli, Caenorhabditis doughertyi, Caenorhabditis guadeloupensis, Caenorhabditis macrosperma, Caenorhabditis nouraguensis, Caenorhabditis plicata, Caenorhabditis virilis, Caenorhabditis wallacei, Caenorhabditis sp. 1, Caenorhabditis sp. 5, Caenorhabditis sp. 21, Caenorhabditis sp. 26, Caenorhabditis sp. 31, Caenorhabditis sp. 32, Caenorhabditis sp. 38, Caenorhabditis sp. 39, Caenorhabditis sp. 40, Caenorhabditis sp. 43.[Samples have been supplied by Aurelien Richaud, Marie-Anne Felix, Christian Braendle, Michael Alion, Piero Lamelza].
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[
Worm Breeder's Gazette,
1995]
emb-5 homolog in Caenorhabditis briggsae
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[
Research Resources Reporter (DHHS),
1986]
A comprehensive collection of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, including strains useful in research and in teaching genetics, is maintained at the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.
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[
BMC Biol,
2016]
Until recently, almost nothing has been known about the natural microbiota of the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Reporting their research in BMC Biology, Dirksen and colleagues describe the first sequencing effort to characterize the gut microbiota of environmentally isolated C. elegans and the related taxa Caenorhabditis briggsae and Caenorhabditis remanei In contrast to the monoxenic, microbiota-free cultures that are studied in hundreds of laboratories, it appears that natural populations of Caenorhabditis harbor distinct microbiotas.
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[
International C. elegans Meeting,
1995]
Two new gonochoristic Caenorhabditis ssp. were discovered in the rotting tissue of saguaro cacti in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson (Arizona). I present a cladogram of C. plicata, the two new species and a group of all other Caenorhabditis spp. (Eu-Caenorhabditis). Apomorphic characters of Caeno- rhabditis include: arrangement of bursal papilla as 2/4+3, 6th papilla enlarged at the base, and spicules with a dorsal velum. The two new species possess open bursae, which indicates a basal position in the cladogram. However, the first species branchis C. plicata which lacks a pharyngeal collar. All other Caenorhabditis spp. possess this collar as an apomorphic character. The second branch is Caenorhabditis sp.-1. An outward directed 5th (instead of 4th) papilla is the apomorphic character for the monophyletic group consisting of Caenorhabditis sp.-2 and its sister group Eu-Caenorhabditis. Eu-Caenorhabditis is united by apomorphic characters including: bursa anteriorly closed with serrate anterior margin, praecloacal hook, and pointed spicule tips. Apomorphic characters of Caenorhabditis sp.-1 are: spicules massive with two tips each, edge of bursa smooth. The nonwaving dauerlarvae are phoretic on the cactophylic fruit fly, Drosophila nigrospiracula. Caenorhabditis sp.-2 is a comparatively small oviparous species that carries a maximum of only 3 eggs in the uterus at a time. It lacks the three lateral lines that typify Caenorhabditis, and its spicules are highly complex.
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[
MicroPubl Biol,
2021]
The gene
him-4 in Caenorhabditis elegans encodes hemicentin, which is evolutionally conserved (Vogel
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[
WormBook,
2018]
Genetic nomenclature for Caenorhabditis species and other nematodes is supervised by WormBase in collaboration with the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC) and with essential input from the community of scientists working on C. elegans and other nematodes.
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[
Genome Biol,
2003]
The publication of the draft genome sequence of Caenorhabditis briggsae improves the annotation of the genome of its close relative Caenorhabditis elegans and will facilitate comparative genomics and the study of the evolutionary changes during development.
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[
Nat Methods,
2010]
The technical toolkit for Caenorhabditis elegans expands to include experimental selection using antibiotic resistance genes.