Dougherty EC (1960) "Cultivation of Aschelminths, especially Rhabditid nematodes."

Dougherty EC

[1960]

For the purpose of the present chapter the noun 'cultivation' is to be taken as the maintenance, in the laboratory, of a population of organisms belonging to a desired species through successive generations and subcultures over a prolonged period of time (weeks, months, or years). This is a deliberate restriction of the term. The noun 'culture' is most aptly used for a population within a circumscribed vessel or container (test-tube, Petri dish, U.S. Bureau of Plant Industry watch glass, etc.); it is also used in a looser, more general way (as "in culture") to cover conditions of substantial growth whether or not leading to cultivation in the strict sense

Herman RK (1995) Methods Cell Biol "Mosaic analysis."

Herman RK

[Methods Cell Biol, 1995]

Geneticists like to point out that the ultimate test of a proposed function for a gene and its encoded product (or products) in a living organism involves making a mutant and analyzing its phenotype. This is the goal of reverse genetics: a gene is cloned and sequenced, its transcripts and protein coding sequence are analyzed, and a function may be proposed; one must then introduce a mutation in the gene in a living organism to see what the functional consequences are. The analysis of genetic mosaics takes this philosophy a step further. In mosaics, some cells of an individual are genotypically mutant and other cells are genotypically wild type. One then asks what the phenotypic consequences are for the living organism. This is not the same as asking what cells transcribe the gene or in what cells the protein product of the gene is to be found, but rather it is asking in what cells the wild-type gene is needed for a given function...

Sternberg PW et al. (1990) "Pattern formation during C. elegans vulval induction."

Mendel JE, Sternberg PW, Han M, Aroian RV, Holboke A, Jongeward GD, Hill RJ

[1990]

Induction of the C. elegans vulva is a simple example of pattern formation in which the combined action of two intercellular signals specifies three cell types in a precise spatial pattern. These two signals, a graded inductive signal and a short-range lateral signal, are each mediated by a distinct genetic pathway. To understand how these intercellular signals specify cell type, we are studying, by genetic analysis and molecular cloning, genes whose products are involved in the induction pathway.

Boyd WA et al. (2000) "Computer tracking method for assessing behavioral changes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans."

Boyd WA, Williams PL, Anderson GL, Dusenbery DB

[2000]

Computer tracking of Caenorhabditis elegans, a free-living soil nematode, is a promising tool to assess behavioral changes upon exposure to contaminants. A short life cycle, a known genetic make-up, thoroughly studied behavior, and a completely mapped nervous system make C. elegans an attractive soil test organism with many advantages over the commonly used earthworm. Although many toxicity tests have been performed with C. elegans, the majority focused on mortality, a much less sensitive endpoint than behavior. A computer tracking system has been developed to monitor behavioral changes using C. elegans. Because conditions unrelated to specific toxicant exposures, such as changes in temperature, developmental stage, and presence of adequate food sources, can affect behavior, there is a need to standardize tracking procedures. To this end, we have developed reference charts for control movement comparing the movement of four and five day-old adult nematodes. The use of K-medium versus deionized (DI) H2O for pre-tracking rinses was also investigated. A final reference chart compared the behavioral responses of nematodes at various food densities (i.e. bacterial concentrations).

Williams BD (1995) Methods Cell Biol "Genetic mapping with polymorphic sequence-tagged sites."

Williams BD

[Methods Cell Biol, 1995]

The number of easily distinguishable mutant phenotypes in Caenorhabditis elegans is relatively small, and this constrains the number of factors that can be followed in standard genetic crosses. Consequently, a new mutation is mapped, first to a chromosome using two-factor data from one or more crosses, and then to a chromosomal subregion by successive three-factor crosses. Mapping would be more efficient if it were possible to score a large number of well-distributed markers in a single cross. The advent of the polymerase chain reaction makes this approach feasible by allowing polymorphic genomic regions to serve as genetic markers that are easily scored in DNA released from individual animals. The only "phenotype" is a band on a gel, so the segregation of many of these markers can be followed in a single cross. Following the terminology proposed by Olsen et al. (1989), we refer to polymorphisms that can be scored by appropriately designed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays as polymorphic seqeunce-tagged sites (STSs)...

Johnson TE et al. (1985) "Aging studies in C. elegans and other nematodes."

Simpson VJ, Johnson TE

[1985]

At first sight the inclusion of a chapter on Caenorhabditis elegans in a volume on cell biology may seem unusual. However this nematode has been a superb model system for a number of cell biology studies as well as a useful model of aging. This widespread interest in C. elegans is engendered in large part by its genetic system and its optical clarity in Nomarski phase-contrast optics. Nematodes have long been a system in wide use among experimental gerontologists, and with the introduction of C. elegans by Brenner in 1974, this species has become the nematode of choice for most aging studies. We concentrate primarily on C. elegans in this review although a number of other speices, including Caenorhabditis briggsae, Turbatrix aceti, and Panagrellus redivivus, have been used in aging studies also. Other reviews on aging in C. elegans have appeared recently, including a more detailed review in another volume of this series.

Boyle JH et al. (2008) Lecture Notes in Computer Science "An integrated neuro-mechanical model of C. elegans forward locomotion"

Cohen N, Boyle JH, Bryden JA

[Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2008]

One of the most tractable organisms for the study of nervous systems is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, whose locomotion in particular has been the subject of a number of models. In this paper we present a first integrated neuro-mechanical model of forward locomotion. We find that a previous neural model is robust to the addition of a body with mechanical properties, and that the integrated model produces oscillations with a more realistic frequency and waveform than the neural model alone. We conclude that the body and environment are likely to be important components of the worms locomotion subsystem.

Yishi Jin (2005) WormBook "Synaptogenesis."

Yishi Jin

[WormBook, 2005]

Synaptogenesis is a process involving the formation of a neurotransmitter release site in the presynaptic neuron and a receptive field at the postsynaptic partners, and the precise alignment of pre- and post-synaptic specializations. In C. elegans synapses are found as en passant axonal swellings along the nerve processes. Genetic screens using a synaptic vesicle-associated GFP marker have identified key players in synaptic target recognition and organization of the presynaptic terminals. Importantly, the functions of most genes are evolutionarily conserved. Further studies using a combination of genetic modifier screens and reverse genetics have begun to reveal the underlying signaling pathways.

Wang D et al. (2013) Methods Mol Biol "Methods for creating mutations in C. elegans that extend lifespan."

Dong Y, Wang D, Dinh J, Cao M

[Methods Mol Biol, 2013]

The principle of commonly used methods to create mutations in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is straightforward. In general, worms are exposed to a dose of mutagen resulting in DNA damages and mutations. Screening the progeny of the mutagenized animals for a certain phenotype is the regular forward genetic approach in C. elegans. A mutant selected from such a population is stabilized to recover a pure homozygous strain. In this chapter, we categorize the protocol into mutagenesis, phenotype screen, and outcross and provide time-tested procedures for their implementation to create long-lived worm mutants.

Otsuka AJ et al. (1987) "Transposon tagging of genes affecting axonal outgrowth in C. elegans."

Hedgecock EM, Wheaton VI, Otsuka AJ

[1987]

The neurological development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is being analysed by classical genetic and molecular approaches. Putative transposon insertions have been generated using a mutator strain. The mutations isolated include an allele of the axonal growth gene unc-44 and a mutation in a novel dumpy gene. These alleles are unstable, but the reversion rates and the number of extraneous transposons can be decreased by serial backcrosses to a transposon Tc1 low copy number strain. Hybridization of Tc1 DNA to gel blots of mutant DNA revealed a limited number of transposable elements in addition to the wildtype complement. In the case of the dumpy mutation, the association of a unique Tc1 element with the mutation has been demonstrated by loss of the