The objectives of this contract are to establish a Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC) to acquire and distribute wild-type and mutant strains of C. elegans and related nematode species, to characterize these strains, and to stimulate research using C. elegans as a model system. The CGC is expected to provide a genetic resource to investigators using C. elegans as a model in biological research. The CGC also receives reprints of publications and data (raw and analyzed), stores these materials, verifies genetic status and/or scientific accuracy and distributes mutant strain bibliographic and genetic information to individual scientists an the scientific public at large. This contract requires that the Contractor perform these activities for a five year period. The principal objective of the Government is the continuation of the C. elegans resource through he operation of a CGC which acquires, maintains and distributes mutant strains of the nematode C. elegans for biological/biomedical research.