The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has been identified as a ?high connectivity? animal for cellular development. This very small simple animal has been widely adopted for experimental study due to its excellent genetics and accessible cell biology. The complete genome of the worm has been published, and most of the adult anatomy has been reconstructed from electron micrographs of serial thin sections. However, EM techniques are not widely utilized by the C. elegans community, and most previous EM data are not easily accessed except through the support of this grant. The Center for C. elegans Anatomy concentrates on 1) publishing detailed information regarding the anatomy of the nematode in the form of annotated TEM and light micrographs, available on our two websites WormAtlas (text-based) and WormImage (image database), and by ftp, on hard drives, and in book form as the C. elegans Atlas. The Center is 2) providing practical training in modern EM methods for students and postdoc's and 3) testing new EM methods for C. elegans. We also conduct new EM surveys of the wild type anatomy at key developmental stages to supplement the Atlas, and to fill in gaps in our general knowledge.
The nematode Caenorhbditis elegans is now one of the leading model organisms for the study of all biology. Many disease-related gene sequences are known in the C. elegans genome. The detailed pathology associated with genetic mutations in nematode is often helpful in discovering the basic function(s) of equivalent gene products in higher vertebrates including man. Studies in this laboratory have uncovered basic mechanisms related to development of the brain, including discovery of the netrin ligand and netrin receptors for axon guidance, and the specialized kinesin motor required for synaptic vesicle transport. We have explored genes involved in several forms of cell death, including apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy, and have described changes in muscle neurotransmitter receptor expression after denervation. We have described many genes and mechanisms for tubulogenesis and tubule maintenance in the nematode excretory system, which closely parallel events affecting the human kidney. The nematode C. elegans also offers a window to understanding the biology of all other nematodes, many of which have health consequences due to parasitic behavior in animals and in man, or are responsible for agricultural damages due to parasitism on crops.
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