Sundaram MV (2004) Curr Biol "Vulval development: the battle between Ras and Notch."

Sundaram MV

[Curr Biol, 2004]

Vulval patterning in Caenorhabditis elegans is controlled by both Ras-mediated 'inductive' signaling and LIN-12/Notch-mediated 'lateral' signaling. Recent studies have identified the lateral signal as well as various genes that are targets of the lateral signaling pathway, and begun to define the multiple molecular links connecting Ras and Notch.

Newman-Smith ED et al. (1998) Curr Opin Genet Dev "The maternal-to-zygotic transition in embryonic patterning of Caenorhabditis elegans."

Newman-Smith ED, Rothman JH

[Curr Opin Genet Dev, 1998]

Maternal factors laid down in the oocyte regulate blastomere identities in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo by activating zygotic patterning genes and restricting their expression to the appropriate lineages. A number of early-acting zygotic genes that specify various cell fates have been identified recently and their temporal and spatial regulation by maternal factors has begun to be elucidated.

Hodgkin JA et al. (1998) Trends Genet "Changing styles in C. elegans genetics."

Herman RK, Hodgkin JA

[Trends Genet, 1998]

The past 30 years have taken the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans from obscurity, as a nondescript member of a large but unglamorous invertebrate phylum, to a position as one of the major model organisms. This year, it will acquire a particular celeberity as the owner of the first animal genome to be sequenced in its entirety. In this review we consider the ways in which genetical investigations of this species have begun to change and what some of the consequences of the completion of the sequence are likely to be.

Mori I et al. (2007) Curr Opin Neurobiol "Worm thermotaxis: a model system for analyzing thermosensation and neural plasticity."

Kuhara A, Sasakura H, Mori I

[Curr Opin Neurobiol, 2007]

Elucidation of the principal mechanism for sensory transduction, learning and memory is a fundamental question in neurobiology. The simple nervous system composed of only 302 neurons and the description of neural wiring combined with developed imaging techniques facilitate cellular and circuit level analysis of behavior in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Recent comprehensive analysis of worm thermotaxis, an experience-modulated behavior, has begun to reveal molecular, cellular, and neural circuit basis of thermosensation and neural plasticity.

Ewbank JJ et al. (2015) Curr Opin Immunol "Local and long-range activation of innate immunity by infection and damage in C. elegans."

Pujol N, Ewbank JJ

[Curr Opin Immunol, 2015]

The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans lends itself naturally to investigation of innate immunity, from the scale of molecules to the whole animal. Numerous studies have begun to reveal the complex interplay of signalling mechanisms that underlie host defence in C. elegans. We discuss here research that illustrates the connection between cell and tissue-level homeostatic mechanisms and the activation of innate immune signalling pathways. These are woven together to provide a comprehensive organismal protection against perceived threats.

Marx JL (1984) Science "New clues to developmental timing."

Marx JL

[Science, 1984]

Within the past few years researchers have finally begun to be able to peer inside a hitherto impenetrable black box, namely, the development of complex organisms. The genes that control the commitment of embryonic cells to specific fates are now being found and characterized. A case in point is reported in this issue of Science (p. 409). Victor Ambros of Harvard University and H. Robert Horvitz of Massachusetts Institute of Technology have identified genes that affect the timing of developmental events in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans.

Sengupta MS et al. (2012) IUBMB Life "Germ granules and the control of mRNA translation."

Sengupta MS, Boag PR

[IUBMB Life, 2012]

Germ granules are an evolutionarily conserved feature of germ cell cytoplasm and are critical for gametogenesis and embryonic development. Germ granules are highly enriched for RNA and RNA-binding proteins and are key centers for post-transcriptional gene regulation in germ cells. Over the last 20 years, the molecular events in germ granule function and formation in several organisms have begun to be revealed. This review seeks to give an overview of some conserved features of germ granules and highlights a conserved strategy for regulating translation of maternal mRNAs.

Gonczy P (2012) Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol "Towards a molecular architecture of centriole assembly."

Gonczy P

[Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol, 2012]

The centriole is an evolutionarily conserved macromolecular structure that is crucial for the formation of flagella, cilia and centrosomes. The ultrastructure of the centriole was first characterized decades ago with the advent of electron microscopy, revealing a striking ninefold radial arrangement of microtubules. However, it is only recently that the molecular mechanisms governing centriole assembly have begun to emerge, including the elucidation of the crucial role of spindle assembly abnormal 6 (SAS-6) proteins in imparting the ninefold symmetry. These advances have brought the field to an exciting era in which architecture meets function.

Sweetman D et al. (2006) Dev Biol "The vertebrate spalt genes in development and disease."

Sweetman D, Munsterberg A

[Dev Biol, 2006]

The spalt proteins are encoded by a family of evolutionarily conserved genes found in species as diverse as Drosophila, C. elegans and vertebrates. In humans, mutations in some of these genes are associated with several congenital disorders which underscores the importance of spalt gene function in embryonic development. Recent studies have begun to cast light on the functions of this family of proteins with increasing understanding of the developmental processes regulated and the molecular mechanisms used. Here we review what is currently known about the role of spalt genes in vertebrate development and human disease.

Lanjuin A et al. (2004) Curr Opin Neurobiol "Specification of chemosensory neuron subtype identities in Caenorhabditis elegans."

Sengupta P, Lanjuin A

[Curr Opin Neurobiol, 2004]

Cellular diversity in the nervous system arises from the presence of multiple neuronal subtypes, each of which is specialized to perform a unique function. Work in Caenorhabditis elegans has begun to reveal the pathways that are essential for the specification of identities of neuronal subtypes in its chemosensory system. The functions of each chemosensory neuron subtype are specified by distinct developmental cascades, using molecules from well-conserved transcription factor families. Additional cellular complexity is generated by novel mechanisms that further diversify the identities of the left and right members of a bilateral sensory neuron pair.