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Curr Opin Genet Dev,
2001]
Although the underlying mechanisms of ageing are not understood, it is known that the longevity of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is modulated by an insulin/IGF-signalling pathway. The focus now is on how this pathway is regulated, how it controls nematode ageing, and how this relates to the ageing process in higher animals.
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Trends in Microbiology,
2005]
Bacillus thuringiensis is widely used as a biological pesticide to control insects that either cause damage to crops or transmit disease. That it can also target the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans has not only provided exciting new insights into how the toxins produced by the bacterium target their victims but also how target insects counter the attack. Modern approaches such as reverse genetics and microarray technology have revealed novel receptors for the toxins and possible signal transduction pathways induced within the host following intoxication. This article will discuss how these findings fit in with current models and how they might influence future studies.
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Curr Opin Neurobiol,
1996]
Neuronal growth cones respond to both contact-mediated and chemotropic guidance cues; these cues can be either attractive or repulsive. This past year has seen further characterization of two gene families implicated in long-range chemoattraction and chemorepulsion: the netrins and the semaphorins. Analysis of invertebrate members of these gene families demonstrates in vivo how netrins play multiple roles in axonal guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans, how specific domains of the netrin molecule confer attractive and repulsive guidance cues, and how semaphorins can function to generate neuromuscular specificity.
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Curr Opin Cell Biol,
2004]
The powerful genetics, genomics and microscopy tools available for C. elegans make it well suited to studying how epithelial cells adhere to one another and the extracellular matrix, and how the integrated, simultaneous activities of multiple cell adhesion complexes function to shape an organism. Recent studies using forward and reverse genetics have shed light on how phylogenetically conserved cell adhesion complexes, such as the cadherin/catenin complex, claudins, the Discs large complex and hemidesmosome-like attachment structures, regulate epithelial cell adhesion, providing new insights into conserved cell adhesion mechanisms in higher eukaryotes.
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Journal of Biosciences,
2004]
Recent studies on feeding behaviour in the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provide a striking illustration of how genetic and environmental influences together mould complex behaviour.
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Dev Suppl,
1993]
The polarization of the embryonic axes is a key event in embryogenesis, being one of the earliest manifestations of the shape and form of the organism. The acquisition of polarity by individual blastomeres is one of the earliest indicators of commitment to a particular pathway of differentiation. These phenomena have been studied in the development of C. elegans both at the cellular and organismal level. This review summarizes what is known about how polarity is established in the blastomeres of this organism, how the division axes of polarized cells are determined, and how the embryonic axes are set up.
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Curr Biol,
2015]
Sensory cues that predict reward or punishment are fundamental drivers of animal behavior. For example, attractive odors of palatable food or a potential mate predict reward, while aversive odors of pathogen-laced food or a predator predict punishment. Aversive and attractive odors can be detected by intermingled sensory neurons that express highly related olfactory receptors and display similar central projections. These findings raise basic questions of how innate odor valence is extracted from olfactory circuits, how such circuits are developmentally endowed and modulated by state, and how innate and learned odor responses are related. Here, we review odors, receptors and neural circuits associated with stimulus valence, discussing salient principles derived from studies on nematodes, insects and vertebrates. Understanding the organization of neural circuitry that mediates odor aversion and attraction will provide key insights into how the brain functions.
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Curr Opin Struct Biol,
2019]
The organization of microtubules in spindles is complex and not fully understood. Here we report on current advances in generating 3D reconstructions of staged spindles by serial-section electron tomography, exemplified by the first mitotic spindle in early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. We then review how advances in correlative light microscopy and quantitative electron tomography enable the development of theory and stochastic simulations, which describe how the microtubule organization in spindles emerges from their dynamics. We show how theory and simulations can be used to address long-standing questions in cell division research, advancing the field beyond a pure structural description of microtubules in spindles.
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Genes Dev,
2005]
The Ras and Notch signaling pathways are used over and over again during development to control many different biological processes. Frequently, these two signaling pathways intersect to influence common processes, but sometimes they cooperate and sometimes they antagonize each other. The Caenorhabditis elegans vulva and the Drosophila eye are two classic paradigms for understanding how Ras and Notch affect cell fates, and how the two pathways work together to control biological pattern. Recent advances in these systems reveal some of the mechanisms by which Ras and Notch can interact. Similar types of interactions in mammals may be important for determining whether and how alterations in Ras or Notch lead to cancer.
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Cell Tissue Res,
2019]
The comparatively simple Caenorhabditis elegans intestine fulfills many of the complex functions of the mammalian digestive tract, liver, and fat tissues, while also having roles in pathogen defense, immunity, and longevity. In this review, we describe the structure of the C. elegans gut and how it develops from the embryonic precursor E. We examine what is currently known about how the animal's microbial diet is moved through the intestinal lumen, and how its enzymatic functions contribute to physiology and metabolism. The underlying gene regulatory networks behind both development and physiology are also described. Finally, we consider recent studies that examine metabolism and digestion and describe emerging areas for future work.