Hodgkin JA (1989) Genetics "Early worms."

Hodgkin JA

[Genetics, 1989]

Just over 21 years ago, in October of 1967, Sydney Brenner soaked a culture of hermaphroditic nematodes of the species Caenorhabditis elegans in a solution of ethyl methane sulfonate. A week later, examining their F2 descendants, he noticed a short, "dumpy" animal among the long, thin wild-type worms. The dumpy animal was picked to a separate culture plate and allowed to produce self-progeny, which were also dumpy: it was a true-breeding mutant. The new strain was given the name E1. Crosses with the parental wild-type strain showed that the mutant phenotype was due to a single autosomal recessive mutation - in modern nomenclature, allele e1 of the gene dpy-1.

Bargmann C (2024) Neuron "Cori Bargmann."

Bargmann C

[Neuron, 2024]

In an interview with Neuron, Cori Bargmann discusses C. elegans as a model organism, the importance of considering the animal's own world (thinking like a worm), choosing a scientific problem, and her experience as head of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and co-chair of the BRAIN Initiative.

Hoffenberg R (2003) Clin Med "Brenner, the worm and the prize."

Hoffenberg R

[Clin Med, 2003]

The recent award of a Nobel Prize to Sydney Brenner crowns an astonishingly distinguished scientific career. He must have come very close to winning it several times in the past. A colleague described him as 'a visionary who sees further into the future than anyone'. This is borne out by his decision - made 40 years ago - to study a one-millimetre long worm in detail to define the, biochemical and genetic control of its development and differentiation. The impact of these studies has been so profound, with a significant bearing on human physiology and disease, that over 400 laboratories worldwide have now adopted the worm as a research tool. In this article, a brief outline is given of his work on the worm and of some of the highlights of his brilliant career.

White JG (2000) Int J Dev Biol "Worm tales."

White JG

[Int J Dev Biol, 2000]

1969 was a landmark year. But for me it was not Neil Armstrong's giant leap or Woodstock heralding the beginning of the end of the sixties that sticks in my mind. It was a visit I made to Cambridge to meet a "bloke who is starting a new project to study some sort of worm", as my head of department at the Medical Research Council's National Institute of Medical Research informed me...

Sminia TJ et al. (2016) Carbohydr Res "Getting a grip on glycans: A current overview of the metabolic oligosaccharide engineering toolbox."

Zuilhof H, Sminia TJ, Wennekes T

[Carbohydr Res, 2016]

This review discusses the advances in metabolic oligosaccharide engineering (MOE) from 2010 to 2016 with a focus on the structure, preparation, and reactivity of its chemical probes. A brief historical overview of MOE is followed by a comprehensive overview of the chemical probes currently available in the MOE molecular toolbox and the bioconjugation techniques they enable. The final part of the review focusses on the synthesis of a selection of probes and finishes with an outlook on recent and potential upcoming advances in the field of MOE.

Marx J (2002) Science "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Tiny worm takes a star turn."

Marx J

[Science, 2002]

The nematode worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans is not much to look at. Just a millimeter long and transparent to boot, it is almost invisible to the naked eye. But in biological research the tiny worm looms large, providing a model system for studying everything from embryonic development to aging. Now, three researchers who pioneered the use of C. elegans as a model organism have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Ferris H et al. (2015) Genetics "Ellsworth C. Dougherty: A Pioneer in the Selection of Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Organism."

Ferris H, Hieb WF

[Genetics, 2015]

Ellsworth Dougherty (1921-1965) was a man of impressive intellectual dimensions and interests; in a relatively short career he contributed enormously as researcher and scholar to the biological knowledge base for selection of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism in neurobiology, genetics, and molecular biology. He helped guide the choice of strains that were eventually used, and, in particular, he developed the methodology and understanding for the nutrition and axenic culture of nematodes and other organisms. Dougherty insisted upon a concise terminology for culture techniques and coined descriptive neologisms that were justified by their linguistic roots. Among other contributions, he refined the classification system for the Protista.

Collier RJ (2001) Toxicon "Understanding the mode of action of diphtheria toxin: a perspective on progress during the 20th century."

Collier RJ

[Toxicon, 2001]

Diphtheria toxin is one of the most extensively studied and well understood bacterial toxins. Ever since its discovery in the late 1800's this toxin has occupied a central focus in the field of toxinology. In this review, I present a chronology of major discoveries that led to our current understanding of the structure and activity of diphtheria toxin.

Hodgkin J (2002) Genetics "One lucky XX male: isolation of the first Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determination mutants."

Hodgkin J

[Genetics, 2002]

This article marks the 25th anniversary of a paper reporting the first sex-determination mutants to be found in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The isolation of these mutants initiated an extensive analysis of nematode sex determination and dosage compensation, carried out by a number of laboratories over the subsequent decades. As a result, the process of sex determination is now one of the most thoroughly understood parts of C. elegans development, in both genetic and molecular terms. It has also proved to have interesting repercussions on the study of sex determination in other organisms.

Emmons SW (2015) Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci "The beginning of connectomics: a commentary on White et al. (1986) 'The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans'."

Emmons SW

[Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci, 2015]

The article 'Structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans' (aka 'The mind of a worm') by White et al., published for the first time the complete set of synaptic connections in the nervous system of an animal. The work was carried out as part of a programme to begin to understand how genes determine the structure of a nervous system and how a nervous system creates behaviour. It became a major stimulus to the field of C. elegans research, which has since contributed insights into all areas of biology. Twenty-six years elapsed before developments, notably more powerful computers, made new studies of this kind possible. It is hoped that one day knowledge of synaptic structure, the connectome, together with results of many other investigations, will lead to an understanding of the human brain. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.