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Resources » Paper

Baird SE et al. (1992) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Four Worms of a Different Color"

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    Status:
    Publication type:
    Gazette_article
    WormBase ID:
    WBPaper00014450

    Baird SE, Emmons SW, & Fitch DHA (1992). Four Worms of a Different Color. Worm Breeder's Gazette, 12(2), 14. Unpublished information; cite only with author permission.

    "...diversity is esthetically enthralling." (Th. Dobzhansky, 1970) As part of a coordinated effort to collect, identify and characterize rhabditid worms that are closely (and not so closely) related to Caenorhabditis elegans, we are compiling morphological, developmental and other data on some wild isolates from various sources. Necromenic ("waiting for the cadaver")(2) species have been isolated by dissecting surface-sterilized invertebrate hosts; other species have been isolated from soil samples using the Baermann funnel technique(3). Four of these species are presently available from the CGC (deposited by S.E.B.): Caenorhabditis vulgaris(4,5) (morphologically similar to C. remanei, it was found to be a different species on the basis of cross-mating tests(6)), Rhabditis sp.(5,7), Pellioditis sp.(5,7), and Pelodera sp.(5) (probably P. teres or a close relative(7)). Preliminary taxonomy was attempted using Andrassy's key(8), and we presently solicit advice from expert Rhabditidae zoologists (e.g., W. Sudhaus(7)). Brief descriptions and illustrations of these species are presented in this abstract; detailed descriptions, measurements and scaled illustrations are available on request. [See Figure 1] The metastom (arrow) of C. vulgaris bears a single large denticle that could have been formed by the fusion of two denticles (the probable ancestral state for this morphological character for most Caenorhabditis species(9)). The metastoms (arrows) of the Rhabditis and Pellioditis species bear about five minute bumps or "warts"; that of the Pelodera species bears three prominent denticles (note also the separated lips on the Pelodera species). All scale bars represent 10.0 m. [See Figure 2] Work on elucidating the correct taxonomy of these species will continue with further characterizations of their development and anatomy. We anticipate that this growing collection of different species will prove invaluable for comparative studies at both morphological and molecular levels, and for species identifications by cross-mating.


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