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The New York Times,
1997]
His tall figure bent over a computer screen in his laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Gary Ruvkun rummages through a distant genetic data base for matches to a gene he believes is involved in diabetes. ?You learn how to read these as they are ratcheting by,? he says, while lines of data streak up his screen. ?I think MTV is good training.?
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Mechanisms of Ageing & Development,
2005]
Recent results indicate that the longevity of both invertebrates and vertebrates can be altered through genetic manipulation and pharmacological intervention. Most of these interventions involve alterations of one or more of the following: insulin/IGF-I signaling pathway, caloric intake, stress resistance and nuclear structure. How longevity regulation relates to aging per se is less clear, but longevity increases are usually accompanied by extended periods of good health. How these results will translate to primate aging and longevity remains to be shown.
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Curr Opin Genet Dev,
1997]
Caenorhabditis elegans will be the first multicellular animal to have its entire genome sequenced. This is not just good news for those currently working in the field, but also for those trying to understand the biology of more complex animals, including humans. C elegans is a relatively simple animal that is amenable to studies of genetics and developmental processes that are common to all animals, making this an attractive model in which to study basic processes that are altered in human disease. Powerful forward and reverse genetics mean that virtually any gene of interest can be studied at the functional level.
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Trends Genet,
1995]
The many features that have made the hermaphroditic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans a good model system for studying development have also attracted investigators to the study of meiosis. Genetic analysis suggests that in C. elegans there are two types of chromosomal sites required for proper meiotic function. The first is needed early in meiosis for recombination and segregation. The second is involved in the mechanisms that establish the normal frequency and distribution of exchange. Genes whose products may interact with these sites have been identified by mutant analysis. Study of these mutations in the nematode is enhancing our general understanding of meiotic
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Taylor DW, Bain O, Adjei O, Trees AJ, Hoerauf A, Hoffmann WH, Wanji S, Makepeace BL, Allen JE, Schulz-Key H, Tanya VN
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PLoS Negl Trop Dis,
2008]
River blindness is a seriously debilitating disease caused by the filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus, which infects millions in Africa as well as in South and Central America. Research has been hampered by a lack of good animal models, as the parasite can only develop fully in humans and some primates. This review highlights the development of two animal model systems that have allowed significant advances in recent years and hold promise for the future. Experimental findings with Litomosoides sigmodontis in mice and Onchocerca ochengi in cattle are placed in the context of how these models can advance our ability to control the human disease.
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Trends Cell Biol,
2016]
Most current research in cell biology uses just a handful of model systems including yeast, Arabidopsis, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, zebrafish, mouse, and cultured mammalian cells. And for good reason - for many biological questions, the best system for the question is likely to be found among these models. However, in some cases, and particularly as the questions that engage scientists broaden, the best system for a question may be a little-studied organism. Modern research tools are facilitating a renaissance for unusual and interesting organisms as emerging model systems. As a result, we predict that an ever-expanding breadth of model systems may be a hallmark of future cell biology.
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Mol Cell Endocrinol,
2009]
In recent years, there has been significant growth in our understanding of the regulation of longevity. The most notable change is the identification and detailed description of a number of molecular pathways modulating the rate of aging. A good portion of this new data has come from studies using the genetic model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. In this review, we provide an overview of physiological systems that are involved in the modulation of aging in C. elegans, then discuss the known endocrine signaling systems that are likely to couple these systems together. Finally, we present a working model describing how aging may be regulated as a coordinated system, communicating through endocrine signals.
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Methods Cell Biol,
1995]
Sequence analysis of cosmids from C. elegans and other organisms currently is best done using the random or "shotgun" strategy (Wilson et al., 1994). After shearing by sonication, DNA is used to prepare M13 subclone libraries which provide good coverage and high-quality sequence data. The subclones are assembled and the data edited using software tools developed especially for C. elegans genomic sequencing. These same tools facilitate much of the subsequent work to complete both strands of the sequence and resolve any remaining ambiguities. Analysis of the finished sequence is then accomplished using several additional computer tools including Genefinder and ACeDB. Taken together, these methods and tools provide a powerful means for genome analysis in the nematode.
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Journal of Gerontology,
1998]
Vanfleteren and colleagues present an interesting example of environmental conditions altering the kinetics of survival. Most previous studies of survival in C. elegans have used abundant bacteria as a food source. Such studies have found that the Gompertz function (exponential growth in mortality rate with age) gives a relatively good fit to survival curves, but that there is some deceleration in the rate of growth of mortality later in the life span. Yulong Yang and I have completed dozens of studies of small populations of the wild-type strain, N2, as well as strains TJ401, TJ411, TJ412,and BA713 in the presence of abundant bacteria in liquid or on agar. Survival curves were better fit by Gompertz more often than by Weibull or logistic functions (unpublished observations).
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Mol Neurobiol,
2013]
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, intellectual disability (ID), and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) occur in over 2 % of the population, as the result of genetic mutations, environmental factors, or combination of both. In the last years, use of large-scale genomic techniques allowed important advances in the identification of genes/loci associated with these disorders. Nevertheless, following association of novel genes with a given disease, interpretation of findings is often difficult due to lack of information on gene function and effect of a given mutation in the corresponding protein. This brings the need to validate genetic associations from a functional perspective in model systems in a relatively fast but effective manner. In this context, the small nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, presents a good compromise between the simplicity of cell models and the complexity of rodent nervous systems. In this article, we review the features that make C. elegans a good model for the study of neurodevelopmental diseases. We discuss its nervous system architecture and function as well as the molecular basis of behaviors that seem important in the context of different neurodevelopmental disorders. We review methodologies used to assess memory, learning, and social behavior as well as susceptibility to seizures in this organism. We will also discuss technological progresses applied in C. elegans neurobiology research, such as use of microfluidics and optogenetic tools. Finally, we will present some interesting examples of the functional analysis of genes associated with human neurodevelopmental disorders and how we can move from genes to therapies using this simple model organism.