They have a short life cycle of only two weeks, which is
useful for studying their development
. C. elegans is a very small organism so is convenient to keep in the lab. The worm is transparent throughout its life so the behaviour of individual cells can be followed through its development.
What is C. elegans and why is it an important model system for neuroscience?
C. elegans has long been an ideal animal in which
to explore the genetic basis of behavior, due to its experimental amenability, and its small and well-defined nervous system
.
What is C. elegans and why do scientists use it to study human development and disease?
Because of evolutionary conservation of gene function and experimental tractability, C. elegans
represents an ideal “model organism” to study basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of human development and disease
.
What research has been done on C. elegans?
C. elegans has proved to be an invaluable animal for aging research. Thus far, research has focused on
the use of lifespan as a measurement of the aging process
. These studies have led to the identification of hundreds of genes and regimens that modulate lifespan.
How might studying C. elegans help us understand Alzheimer’s disease in humans?
C. elegans has many advantages as
a model system to study AD and other neurodegenerative diseases
. Like their mammalian counterparts, they have complex biochemical pathways, most of which are conserved. Genes in which mutations are correlated with AD have counterparts in C.
What is the meaning of elegans?
Elegans,
Latin for “elegant”
, is commonly used as a species epithet in systematic names. For a list of species with this epithet, see: All pages with titles containing elegans.
Why are C. elegans a good model organism for Apoptosis?
C. elegans has been proven to be an excellent model organism for studies of programmed cell death.
Its transparency and the knowledge of its cell lineage, including its invariant life
vs.
What is a model organism and why is C. elegans commonly used as a model organism in biology labs?
C. elegans is
a nematode worm
and is significantly anatomically simpler than a human, however, it does share many similarities at the molecular level making it a good candidate for a model organism.
Why is Caenorhabditis elegans important in biology?
Caenorhabditis elegans has served as an important model organism during the past decades.
The defined developmental lineage and dynamic germline containing spatially resolved mitotic and meiotic cell divisions make the nematode a formidable experimental system for studying genome stability and DNA-repair mechanisms
.
Why is Mus musculus a good model organism?
musculus is often used as a preferred model organism due to the
similarity with the human genome of 85% and genome size
~
2.5 Gbp
. Despite being bigger than the other model organisms discussed in this series, mice are still relatively easily to care for, breed and study.
The homology between human CGI genes and C. elegans genes is approximately 41% (20% to 71% in range) and similarity is even more striking at
59% (34% to 87%)
, as shown in Fig.
When was C. elegans introduced?
The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans was first studied in the laboratory by Victor Nigon and Ellsworth Dougherty in
the 1940s
, but came to prominence after being adopted by Sydney Brenner in 1963 as a model organism for the study of developmental biology using genetics.
Why Caenorhabditis elegans have been used by scientists worldwide as a model organism to study various physiological and developmental mechanisms?
While not as sophisticated as a mammalian model, using C. elegans as a model organism has advantages including
having all the physiological properties of an animal, the ability to replicate human diseases and a fast life cycle
.
What can we learn about human disease from the nematode C. elegans?
elegans for the identification of human disease genes. Studies utilizing this relatively simple organism offer
a good balance between the ability to recapitulate many aspects of human disease
, while still offering an abundance of powerful cell biological, genetic, and genomic tools for disease gene discovery.
Can C. elegans infect humans?
elegans [8-16].
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen of humans
and the most commonly studied pathogen in C. elegans, where it causes a lethal infection of intestinal epithelial cells [17].
How do you pronounce Caenorhabditis?
What is C. elegans apoptosis?
In C. elegans, apoptosis is
a normal component of growth
. During development 1090 somatic cells are generated for each hermaphrodite, of which 131 invariantly undergo apoptosis (Sulston and Horvitz, 1977; Sulston et al., 1983).
How does apoptosis occur in C. elegans?
Apoptosis in Caenorhabditis elegans normally occurs
during the development of somatic tissues and the maturation of female germ cells, as well as in the female germ line in response to DNA damage
.
Why are model systems an important part of research?
Studying model organisms can be informative, but care must be taken when generalizing from one organism to another. In researching human disease, model organisms
allow for better understanding the disease process without the added risk of harming an actual human
.
Why are model organisms important?
Why are model organisms useful in genetics research? Many model organisms can breed in large numbers.
Mutants allow scientists to study certain characteristics or diseases
. These are model organisms that have undergone a change or mutation
?
in their DNA
?
that may result in a change in a certain characteristic.
What do C. elegans feed on in their natural habitat?
C. elegans eats
bacteria
and grows in various types of bacteria-rich rotting plant material. Dauer larvae are induced by bacterial food depletion, high C. elegans density, and high temperature.
