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BMJ,
1999]
Biochemists have found that the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is controlled by its reproductive system, meaning that successful reproduction means a shorter life.
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Science,
1988]
In Caenorhabditis elegans patterns of cell division, differentiation, and morphogenesis can be observed with single-cell resolution in intact, living animals. Mechanisms that determine behaviors of individual cells during development are being dissected by means of genetic, cell biological, and molecular approaches.
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Ann Appl Biol,
2005]
Genomic tools are expanding the utility of organisms originally developed as models for biomedical research as a means to address complex agricultural problems. Conversely, agricultural pests are serving as models to help unravel questions of basic biology. Examples from C. elegans and root-knot nematode of this two-way exchange are discussed.
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Methods Cell Biol,
2012]
Laser killing of cell nuclei has long been a powerful means of examining the roles of individual cells in C. elegans. Advances in genetics, laser technology, and imaging have further expanded the capabilities and usefulness of laser surgery. Here, we review the implementation and application of currently used methods for target edoptical disruption in C. elegans.
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Free Radic Biol Med,
2014]
Aging is a natural biological process that is characterized by a progressive accumulation of macromolecular damage. In the proteome, aging is accompanied by decreased protein homeostasis and function of the major cellular proteolytic systems, leading to the accumulation of unfolded, misfolded, or aggregated proteins. In particular, the proteasome is responsible for the removal of normal as well as damaged or misfolded proteins. Extensive work during the past several years has clearly demonstrated that proteasome activation by either genetic means or use of compounds significantly retards aging. Importantly, this represents a common feature across evolution, thereby suggesting proteasome activation to be an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of aging and longevity regulation. This review article reports on the means of function of these proteasome activators and how they regulate aging in various species.
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Annu Rev Genet,
2012]
Axon regeneration is a medically relevant process that can repair damaged neurons. This review describes current progress in understanding axon regeneration in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Factors that regulate axon regeneration in C. elegans have broadly similar roles in vertebrate neurons. This means that using C. elegans as a tool to leverage discovery is a legitimate strategy for identifying conserved mechanisms of axon regeneration.
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Ageing Res Rev,
2014]
A growing body of evidence shows that microRNA expression changes with age in animals ranging from nematode to human. Genetic studies of microRNA function in vivo provide the means to move beyond correlation and to explore cause-effect relationships. Genetic studies in C. elegans and Drosophila have identified cellular pathways involved in organismal aging. Here, we review the evidence that microRNAs act in vivo as regulators of aging pathways, with emphasis on Drosophila.
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WormBook,
2006]
Electrophysiology provides a quantifiable measure of synaptic activity useful in the functional analysis of synaptic proteins. Recent advances in the application of this technique to C. elegans provides a means of coupling genetics to electrophysiological analysis, providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating neurotransmission. Here we describe a dissection technique that exposes the neuromuscular junctions of C. elegans for electrophysiological analysis. This technique can be adapted to record from virtually any excitable cell in the worm.
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Nature,
2010]
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans ages and dies in a few weeks, but humans can live for 100 years or more. Assuming that the ancestor we share with nematodes aged rapidly, this means that over evolutionary time mutations have increased lifespan more than 2,000-fold. Which genes can extend lifespan? Can we augment their activities and live even longer? After centuries of wistful poetry and wild imagination, we are now getting answers, often unexpected ones, to these fundamental questions.
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Science,
1994]
In both Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans somatic sex determination, germline sex determination, and dosage compensation are controlled by means of a chromosomal signal known as the X:A ratio. A variety of mechanisms are used for establishing and implementing the chromosomal signal, and these do not appear to be similar in the two species. Instead, the study of sex determination and dosage compensation is providing more general lessons about different types of signaling pathways used to control alternative developmental states of cells and organisms.