C. elegans is a key animal model for understanding a broad spectrum of human diseases. Productivity around C. elegans has been greatly facilitated by the generation and open sharing of systems-level knowledge of the organism. Here we propose WormGUIDES (Global Understanding in Dynamic Embryonic Systems), a novel resource that will result in the creation and sharing of the first atlas of embryogenesis and neurodevelopment for any animal. WormGUIDES will result in an interactive 4D atlas of nuclear positions, from zygote until hatching. We envision this will become an everyday reference tool used by the entire community to guide cell identification, quantify developmental processes and visualize nascent patterns and symmetries in the embryo. WormGUIDES will also result in a technical pipeline for the creation of a neurodevelopmental atlas. C. elegans is the only animal with a known connectome, and the tools created through WormGUIDES will enable examination of how this connectome emerges during development. WormGUIDES will integrate this newly generated knowledge of C. elegans embryogenesis to existing and widely used resources, such as WormAtlas and WormBase. The impact of WormGUIDES will be transfomative, providing a comprehensive resource that will enable examination of currently inaccessible aspects of neurodevelopment, while furthering our understanding of embryogenesis and enhancing the value of C. elegans as a model organism.

Public Health Relevance

C. elegans has been a key animal model for understanding a broad spectrum of human diseases. We propose WormGUIDES, a novel systems-level resource that will facilitate examination of cellular decisions in the developing embryo of this nematode, enhancing the value of C. elegans as a model organism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)
Type
Resource-Related Research Projects (R24)
Project #
5R24OD016474-02
Application #
8680385
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZTR1-CM-6 (01))
Program Officer
Chang, Michael
Project Start
2013-06-13
Project End
2017-04-30
Budget Start
2014-05-01
Budget End
2015-04-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$615,949
Indirect Cost
$103,775
Name
Yale University
Department
Anatomy/Cell Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
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Shah, Pavak Kirit; Santella, Anthony; Jacobo, Adrian et al. (2017) An In Toto Approach to Dissecting Cellular Interactions in Complex Tissues. Dev Cell 43:530-540.e4
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Stavoe, Andrea K H; Hill, Sarah E; Hall, David H et al. (2016) KIF1A/UNC-104 Transports ATG-9 to Regulate Neurodevelopment and Autophagy at Synapses. Dev Cell 38:171-85
Santella, Anthony; Catena, Raúl; Kovacevic, Ismar et al. (2015) WormGUIDES: an interactive single cell developmental atlas and tool for collaborative multidimensional data exploration. BMC Bioinformatics 16:189
Vidal, Berta; Santella, Anthony; Serrano-Saiz, Esther et al. (2015) C. elegans SoxB genes are dispensable for embryonic neurogenesis but required for terminal differentiation of specific neuron types. Development 142:2464-77

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