Monleon D et al. (2004) J Biomol NMR "Backbone 1H, 15N and 13C assignments for the 21 kDa Caenorhabditis elegans homologue of "brain-specific" protein."

Macapagal D, Chiang YW, Szyperski T, Aramini JM, Montelione GT, Swapna GVT, Kim S, Gunsalus KC, Monleon D

[J Biomol NMR, 2004]

The Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium (NESG) is a pilot project designed to evaluate the feasibility and value of structural genomics. The 21 kDa Caenorhabditis elegans protein coded by gene CE32E8.3 (TrEMBL protein P91127, referred to here as WR33) is one of several hundred targets identified for structural analysis by the Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium (www.nesg.org). WR33 belongs to a large protein domain family with homologues in several eukaryotic genomes, including those of Homo sapiens (TrEMBL proteins Q9Y326, O94811, and Q9Y6H0), Mus musculis (TrEMBL protein Q9CRB6), and Drosophila melanogaster (TrEMBL protein Q(VV43). The 25 kDa Bos Taurus (bovine) homologue from this family (Q27957), with 38% sequence identity with WR33 over 175 residues, is characterized as 'brain specific protein P25' (Shiratsuchi et al., 1995) and is expressed in oligodendrocytes and neutrophils of bovine brain tissue. However, none of the members of this strongly conserved protein domain family has a characterized biological function.

Tomlinson MG et al. (1996) J Mol Evol "A new transmembrane 4 superfamily molecule in the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans."

Tomlinson MG, Wright MD

[J Mol Evol, 1996]

Transmembrane 4 superfamily (TM4SF) molecules are predominantly mammalian cell surface glycoproteins that are thought to transduce signals mediating cell development, activation, and motility. Analysis of the Genpept sequence database reveals YKK8, a novel member of the TM4SF in the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. YKK8 is a putative 27.4-kDa protein encoded by a gene on chromosome III of the C. elegans genome. The assignment of YKK8 to the TM4SF is justified by three criteria: statistical comparison of protein sequences, conserved TM4SF protein sequence motifs, and conserved TM4SF intron/exon boundaries in the genomic sequence. The discovery of a TM4SF molecule in the nematode extends this superfamily to a more primitive branch of the phylogenetic tree and suggests a fundamental role for TM4SF molecules in biology.

Burglin TR (1996) Curr Biol "Warthog and groundhog, novel families related to hedgehog."

Burglin TR

[Curr Biol, 1996]

Cell -cell signalling is one of the fundamental mechanisms by which different cell fates are generated during development. One group of signalling molecules, encoded by the Drosophila gene hedgehog and its vertebrate orthologues, has been shown to play important roles during development of flies and vertebrates. Searching through the Caenorhabditis elegans genome, a major fraction of which as now been sequenced, reveals several sequences with similarities to hedgehog genes. The similarity is restricted to the carboxyl terminus of the Hedgehog proteins, which is surprising given that the amino-terminal part, which provides the biologically active signal, is more highly conserved between fly and vertebrate Hedgehogs. The carboxyl terminus is a distinct domain that has autoproteolytic activity and cleaves Hedgehog into a protease domain and a signalling part, and it is thought to regulate the release of the amino-terminal signal.

Voell MR et al. (2010) BMC Genomics "A response to Rome: lessons from pre- and post-publication data-sharing in the C. elegans research community."

Farris L, Voell MR, Levy E, Marden E

[BMC Genomics, 2010]

BACKGROUND: In recent years numerous studies have undertaken to measure the impact of patents, material transfer agreements, data-withholding and commercialization pressures on biomedical researchers. Of particular concern is the theory that such pressures may have negative effects on academic and other upstream researchers. In response to these concerns, commentators in some research communities have called for an increased level of access to, and sharing of, data and research materials. We have been studying how data and materials are shared in the community of researchers who use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a model organism for biological research. Specifically, we conducted a textual analysis of academic articles referencing C. elegans, reviewed C. elegans repository request lists, scanned patents that reference C. elegans and conducted a broad survey of C. elegans researchers. Of particular importance in our research was the role of the C. elegans Gene Knockout Consortium in the facilitation of sharing in this community. RESULTS: Our research suggests that a culture of sharing exists within the C. elegans research community. Furthermore, our research provides insight into how this sharing operates and the role of the culture that underpins it. CONCLUSIONS: The greater scientific community is likely to benefit from understanding the factors that motivate C. elegans researchers to share. In this sense, our research is a 'response' to calls for a greater amount of sharing in other research communities, such as the mouse community, specifically, the call for increased investment and support of centralized resource sharing infrastructure, grant-based funding of data-sharing, clarity of third party recommendations regarding sharing, third party insistence of post-publication data sharing, a decrease in patenting and restrictive material transfer agreements, and increased attribution and reward.

Mounsey A et al. (2002) Genome Res "Evidence suggesting that a fifth of annotated Caenorhabditis elegans genes may be pseudogenes."

Mounsey A, Bauer P, Hope IA

[Genome Res, 2002]

Only a minority of the genes, identified in the Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequence data by computer analysis, have been characterized experimentally. We attempted to determine the expression patterns for a random sample of the annotated genes using reporter gene fusions. A low success rate was obtained for evolutionarily recently duplicated genes. Analysis of the data suggests that this is not due to conditional or low-level expression. The remaining explanation is that most of the annotated genes in the recently duplicated category are pseudogenes, a proportion corresponding to 20% of all of the annotated C elegans genes. Further Support for this Surprisingly high figure was sought by comparing sequences for families of recently duplicated C elegans genes. Although only a preliminary analysis, clear evidence for a gene having been recently inactivated by genetic drift was found for many genes in the recently duplicated category. At least 4% of the annotated C elegans genes call be recognized as pseudogenes simply from closer inspection of the sequence data. Lessons learned in identifying pseudogenes in C elegans could be of value in the annotation of the genomes of other species where, although there may be fewer pseudogenes, they may be harder to detect.

Edgar RS et al. (1977) Science "The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: a new organism for intensive biological study."

Edgar RS, Wood WB

[Science, 1977]

At a recent conference in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, investigators met to discuss the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This free-living worm may, according to some workers, become the Escherichia coli or at least the bacteriophage T4 of the animal world. Small (about 1mm in length) and semitransparent, C. elegans provides for research the advantages of a short life cycle (3 days) and a simple anatomy-it contains about 810 nongonadal nuclei. It is both easy to cultivate, on E. coli as a food source, and convenient for genetic analysis. Its genes are carried on five autosomes and a sex chromosome (X), and it has a genome size about 20 times that of E. coli. It generally reproduces as a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite (XX), but occasional males (XO), which arise by nondisjunction, permit sexual reproduction as well....

Van Gerven N et al. (2008) FEMS Microbiol Lett "Expression of in vivo-inducible Salmonella enterica promoters during infection of Caenorhabditis elegans."

Derous V, Hernalsteens JP, Van Gerven N

[FEMS Microbiol Lett, 2008]

In vitro mimicking of the stimuli controlling in vivo-inducible bacterial promoters during infection of the host can be complex. Therefore, the use of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was evaluated, as a surrogate host to examine the expression of Salmonella enterica promoters. Green fluorescent protein (GFP+) was put under the control of the promoters of the pagC, mgtB, sseA, pgtE and fur genes of S. enterica. After infection of C. elegans with an S. enterica serovar Typhimurium vaccine strain expressing these constructs, clear bacterial expression of GFP+ was observed under the control of all five promoters, although significant expression was not always obtained in vitro. It is concluded that C. elegans constitutes a useful model system for the study of the in vivo expression of Salmonella promoters.

Matsumura A et al. (2018) FEBS Lett "Inactivation of cardiolipin synthase triggers changes in mitochondrial morphology."

Higuchi J, Akabane S, Oka T, Endo T, Aoki K, Watanabe Y, Kato M, Matsumura A

[FEBS Lett, 2018]

Mitochondrial tubular structures are maintained by a balance between membrane fusion and fission that is regulated by various factors, including Drp1 and mitofusin/fzo-1. Here we report the role of cardiolipin (CL) synthase in the regulation of mitochondrial morphology. Knockdown of CL synthase induced mitochondrial elongation in nematode and human cells. Knockdown of both nematode cardiolipin synthase and drp-1 or fzo-1 suggested that knocking down CL synthase decreases mitochondrial division. Mass spectrometric analysis of human CL synthase-knocked down cells revealed a decreased amount of CL and an accumulation of phosphatidylglycerol, a CL precursor. Knockdown of other genes involved in CL synthesis did not influence mitochondrial morphology. Thus, mitochondrial elongation may result from the accumulation of phosphatidylglycerol rather than decreased CL.

Hoerauf A et al. (2000) Lancet "Endosymbiotic bacteria in worms as targets for a novel chemotherapy in filariasis."

Adjei O, Buttner DW, Autenrieth IB, Hoerauf A, Volkmann L, Hamelmann C, Fleischer B

[Lancet, 2000]

Endosymbiotic bacteria living in plasmodia or worm parasites are required for the homoeostasis of their host and should be excellent targets for chemotherapy of certain parasitic diseases. We show that targeting of Wolbachia spp bacteria in Onchocerca volvulus filariae by doxycycline leads to sterility of adult worms to an extent not seen with drugs used against onchocerciasis, a leading cause of blindness in African countries.

Hajarnavis A et al. (2006) RNA "A conserved sequence motif in 3' untranslated regions of ribosomal protein mRNAs in nematodes."

Durbin R, Hajarnavis A

[RNA, 2006]

The 3'' untranslated regions (3'' UTR) of eukaryotic genes can contain motifs involved in regulation of gene expression or localization at the post-transcriptional level. This study concerns the identification of novel, conserved elements in 3'' UTRs of many ribosomal protein mRNAs in Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae. Analysis of the region around the polyadenylation signal in many ribosomal protein mRNAs indicates the conservation of a sequence motif UUGUU occurring both before and immediately after the polyadenylation signal. Building a statistical model of this motif and searching a database of C. elegans 3'' UTRs reveals that this motif is also present in the 3'' UTR of some genes involved in translation and ribosome maturation, among others. We suggest that this signal may be involved in translation or other message-level regulation of ribosomal genes in C. elegans.