Rankin CH J Neurogenet "But can they learn? My accidental discovery of learning and memory in C. elegans."

Rankin CH

[J Neurogenet]

I did not set out to study <i>C. elegans</i>. My undergraduate and graduate training was in Psychology. My postdoctoral work involved studying learning and memory in 1mm diameter juvenile <i>Aplysia californica</i>. As a starting Assistant Professor when I attempted to continue my studies on Aplysia I encountered barriers to carrying out that work; at about the same time I was introduced to <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> and decided to investigate whether they could learn and remember. My laboratory was the first to demonstrate conclusively that <i>C. elegans</i> could learn and in the years since then my lab and many others have demonstrated that <i>C. elegans</i> is capable of a variety of forms of learning and memory.

Ausubel FM (2018) Annu Rev Genet "Tracing My Roots: How I Became a Plant Biologist."

Ausubel FM

[Annu Rev Genet, 2018]

My trajectory to becoming a plant biologist was shaped by a complex mix of scientific, political, sociological, and personal factors. I was trained as a microbiologist and molecular biologist in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a time of political upheaval surrounding the Vietnam War. My political activism taught me to be wary of the potential misuses of scientific knowledge and to promote the positive applications of science for the benefit of society. I chose agricultural science for my postdoctoral work. Because I was not trained as a plant biologist, I devised a postdoctoral project that took advantage of my microbiological training, and I explored using genetic technologies to transfer the ability to fix nitrogen from prokaryotic nitrogen-fixing species to the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana with the ultimate goal of engineering crop plants. The invention of recombinant DNA technology greatly facilitated the cloning and manipulation of bacterial nitrogen-fixation (nif) genes, but it also forced me to consider how much genetic engineering of organisms, including human beings, is acceptable. My laboratory has additionally studied host-pathogen interactions using Arabidopsis and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as model hosts. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Genetics Volume 52 is November 23, 2018. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Schaffner KF (1998) Philosophy of Science "Model organisms and behavioral genetics - A rejoinder."

Schaffner KF

[Philosophy of Science, 1998]

In this rejoinder to the three preceding comments, I provide some additional philosophical warrant for the biomedical sciences' focus on model organisms. I then relate the inquiries on model systems to the concept of 'deep homology', and indicate that the issues that appear to divide my commentators and myself are in part empirical ones. I cite recent work on model organisms, and especially C. elegans that supports my views. Finally, I briefly readdress some of the issues raised by Developmental Systems Theory.

Vanfleteren JR et al. (1994) Mol Phylogenet Evol "Molecular genealogy of some nematode taxa as based on cytochrome c and globin amino acid sequences."

Moens L, Vanfleteren JR, Trotman CNA, Tweedie SA, Van de Peer Y, Lu L, Van Hauwaert ML, Blaxter ML

[Mol Phylogenet Evol, 1994]

We have begun to reconstruct the ancient history of the nematode phylum based on cytochrome c and globin amino acid sequences. The data suggest that the nematode ancestor diverged from a line leading to mammals about 1 billion years ago and that the most recent common ancestor of the extant species Caenorhabditis elegans, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, Ascaris suum, and Pseudoterranova decipiens lived about 550 MY ago. The rhabditids and strongylids emerged as one offshoot of this ancestor, the ascarids as another. Rhabditids and strongylids diverged some 400 MY ago, whereas the genera Trichostrongylus and Nippostrongylus diverged slightly over 200 MY ago. A gene duplication event in the strongylid branch is predicted to have occurred around 250-335 MY ago. There are two globin genes in Nippostrongylus, expressed in anatomically distinct compartments (body and cuticle), and the single sequence from Trichostrongylus is most like the Nippostrongylus body globin gene. A strikingly different duplication event occurred within the same period in the line leading to the extant ascarid genera, creating a single polypeptide containing two globin domains. The genera Ascaris and Pseudoterranova diverged some 150-250 MY ago. Interestingly, the second globin repeat evolved at a faster rate in both species examined. This is possibly related to the acquisition of an unusual carboxyterminal extension, composed of alternating positively and negatively charged residues, that is necessary for the assembly of several monomers into the native polymeric molecules.

Carpenter AE (2011) Proc IEEE Int Symp Biomed Imaging "EXTRACTING BIOMEDICALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM LARGE, AUTOMATED IMAGING EXPERIMENTS."

Carpenter AE

[Proc IEEE Int Symp Biomed Imaging, 2011]

Major challenges remain in the extraction of rich information from high-throughput microscopy experiments. In this paper, I describe some of these challenges, particularly those that are the subject of ongoing research in my laboratory. The challenges include segmenting neurons, co-cultures of different cell types, and whole organisms; segmenting and tracking cells in time-lapse images; quantifying complex phenotypic changes; and discovering biologically relevant subpopulations of cells.

Wang P et al. (2022) Food Chem X "Acylating blueberry anthocyanins with fatty acids: Improvement of their lipid solubility and antioxidant activities."

Zhuang Y, Fei P, Wang P, Liu J

[Food Chem X, 2022]

Aimed at exploring the impact of fatty acid side chains on the anthocyanins, n-valeric acid, n-decanoic acid and myristic acid were used to grafting onto the blueberry anthocyanins, and the acylating degree value of the of n-valeric acid acylated anthocyanins (Va-An), n-decanoic acid acylated anthocyanins (De-An) and myristic acid acylated anthocyanins (My-An) reached 6.43 %, 7.56% and 8.38 %, respectively. After acylation modification, the octanol-water partition coefficient of the anthocyanins increased from -0.20 (native anthocyanins, Na-An) to 0.65 (Va-An), 0.66 (De-An) and 0.72 (My-An), respectively, indicating the increasement of the lipid solubility. Besides, although the DPPH clearance of acylated anthocyanins was lower than that of native anthocyanins, the inhibition ratio of &#946;-carotene bleaching and malonaldehyde reduction effect of the acylated blueberry anthocyanins in Caenorhabditis elegans were both stronger than that of native anthocyanins, which might be caused by the improvement of lipid solubility of the anthocyanins.

Chalfie M J Neurogenet "A touching story."

Chalfie M

[J Neurogenet]

A slide taped to a window at the Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory was my first introduction to the touch receptor neurons of the nematode <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>. Studying these cells as a postdoc with Sydney Brenner gave me a chance to work with John Sulston on a fascinating set of neurons. I would never have guessed then that 43 years later I would still be excited about learning their secrets.

Johnson SM (2010) J Biomol Struct Dyn "Painting a perspective on the landscape of nucleosome positioning."

Johnson SM

[J Biomol Struct Dyn, 2010]

DNA sequence influences the position of nucleosomes and chromatin architecture. The extent to which underlying DNA sequence affects nucleosome positioning is currently a topic of considerable discussion and active experimentation. To contribute to the discussion, I will outline a few of the methods, data and arguments that I find compelling and believe will ultimately resolve the question of what positions nucleosomes. Basically, I will give a portrait of my current perspective on what influences the landscape of nucleosome positioning and chromatin architecture.

Kenyon C (2001) ScientificWorldJournal "Regulation of Longevity by Insulin/Igf-1 Signaling, Sensory Neurons and the Germline in the Nematode C. Elegans."

Kenyon C

[ScientificWorldJournal, 2001]

Aging is regulated hormonally in the nematode C. elegans. In my presentation, I will describe this elaborate endocrine system, which involves an insuln/IGF-1 signaling pathway, with inputs from the sensory tissues and the reproductive system. Our studies suggest that multiple hormones regulate the life span of this animal, including insulin/IGF-1-like hormones and a steroid hormone. Aging in this organism is extremely plastic; changes in any of a number of genes can extend youthfulness and double, or even quadruple, life span.

Kovacs AL (2015) Biophys Rep "The application of traditional transmission electron microscopy for autophagy research in Caenorhabditis elegans."

Kovacs AL

[Biophys Rep, 2015]

Traditional ultrastructural characterization of autophagic processes remains an important approach to be used in parallel with molecular genetics, light microscopy, and other methods. The special nature of Caenorhabditis elegans as an object for transmission electron microscopy makes its introduction into autophagy research a challenging task. The basis of the protocol to prepare C. elegans samples for autophagy studies was worked out around the turn of the millennium and has been used since then in my laboratory with some modifications. The method described here enables the user to prepare samples for systematic morphologic as well as morphometric investigations to characterize autophagy with a high but still realistic investment of effort.