-
Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living soil nematode, about 1 mm in length, that is found around the world. It is currently a common laboratory model for many aspects of cellular, developmental, and molecular biology. Its popularity comes from its transparency (allowing all nuclei to be followed in living animals at all stages of development), its anatomical simplicity (1000 cells), its small genome (100 Mbp), an invariant somatic cell lineage, ease of laboratory culture, rapid generation time, and a mode of reproduction which facilitates classical genetic analysis. An interested beginner needs only a petri plate, some Escherichia coli, and a stereo dissecting microscope to begin study of this fascinating creature.
-
[
2003]
Since the publication of the first genetic research paper on Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans for short) in 1974, this microscopic, free-living nematode has become a popular model organism to study development, neurobiology, and other biological problems. The ability to do powerful genetics has been the most critical reason why studies using this organism have made enormous contributions to basic biology and medical science. Therefore, C. elegans genetics should be part of any modern genetic education. In this chapter, we describe some of the unique properties of C. elegans that makes it an exceptional organism for genetic and molecular biological research. Some important genetic tools and methodologies developed by C. elegans researchers will also be introduced. We aim to connect the fundamental principles of genetics as described in early chapters with practical applications of these principles in actual research. We have chosen a few genetic pathways and biological problems as examples for illustrating the logic behind the genetic analyses and for introducing some commonly practiced strategies and methods. We do not hesitate to introduce some of the most advanced and up-to-date methods and approaches, including those developed since the genome sequence was determined in 1998. We believe today's students can go right into the heart of present research after learning the basic principle of Genetics (see the early chapters of this book) and molecular biology. In fact, in many C. elegans laboratories, undergraduate students are doing a wide variety of experiments using the genetic techniques
-
[
1992]
Nematodes are generally small animals that superficially resemble miniature earthworms in overall shape. Although the morphology of Caenorhabditis elegans is very simple, the establishment or maintenance of this shape involves a large number of genes. Mutant C. elegans strains have been isolated in which worms are short and fat, abnormally long and thin, twisted into a left or right helix, or covered with irregular lumps. This chapter deals with experiments and observations that suggest how the basic shape of the nematode is first established during embryogenesis and why certain genes may be essential for normal morphogenesis.
-
Each year hundreds of students and practicing scientists join in the study of the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Their reasons for doing so are varied, but at the core these individuals are uniformly impressed by the cohesiveness and generosity of the C. elegans research community, the focused effort to understand every aspect of C. elegans biology, the power and flexibility of the...
-
In the next five years, molecular biology will get its first look at the complete genetic code of a multicellular animal. The Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequencing project, a collaboration between Robert Waterston's group in St. Louis and John Sulston's group in Cambridge, is currently on schedule towards its goal of obtaining the complete sequence of this organism and all its estimated 15,000 to 20,000 genes by 1998. By that time, we should also know the complete genome sequence of a few other organisms as well, including the prokaryote Escherichia coli and the single-celled eukaryote Saccharomyces
-
[
1992]
Caenorhabditis elegans is a small soil nematode which is currently being extensively studied to discern general principles of how genes control development. The short life cycle, ability to culture in quantities sufficient for biochemical work, well-developed genetics, small cell number for a rather sophisticated animal, and rapidly increasing possibilities for molecular genetics are features that make this species a very productive system
-
[
1994]
The current interest in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans began approximately 25 years ago when Sidney Brenner selected this species as the most suitable for studies of metazoan development and nervous system. The basis of this selection rested on the anatomical simplicity of nematodes, which nevertheless possess the major differentiated cell types of higher animals, and the tractability of C. elegans to the genetic approach. Over the past two decades or so, progress has been impressive: the cell lineage from egg to adult and the anatomy of the nervous system have been completely described, genetic investigations of numerous developmental problems are co-ordinated within a universally-agreed, systematic nomenclature, a physical map of the C. elegans genome is nearing completion and a project to sequence the entire genome is underway. Furthermore, the number of laboratories seeking to understand the mechanisms controlling animal development through genetic and molecular investigations of C. elegans is rising rapidly as the advantages of this organism become