Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek caeno- (recent), rhabditis (rod-like) and Latin elegans (elegant). In 1900, Maupas initially named it Rhabditides elegans. Osche placed it in the subgenus Caenorhabditis in 1952, and in 1955, Dougherty raised Caenorhabditis to the status of genus.
Genome projects are scientific endeavours that ultimately aim to determine the complete genome sequence of an organism and to annotate protein-coding genes and other important genome-encoded features. The genome sequence of an organism includes the collective DNA sequences of each chromosome in the organism. For a bacterium containing a single chromosome, a genome project will aim to map the sequence of that chromosome. For the human species, whose genome includes 22 pairs of autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes, a complete genome sequence will involve 46 separate chromosome sequences.
Sir John Edward Sulston was a British biologist and academic who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the cell lineage and genome of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans in 2002 with his colleagues Sydney Brenner and Robert Horvitz. He was a leader in human genome research and Chair of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation at the University of Manchester. Sulston was in favour of science in the public interest, such as free public access of scientific information and against the patenting of genes and the privatisation of genetic technologies.
Comparative genomics is a field of biological research in which the genomic features of different organisms are compared. The genomic features may include the DNA sequence, genes, gene order, regulatory sequences, and other genomic structural landmarks. In this branch of genomics, whole or large parts of genomes resulting from genome projects are compared to study basic biological similarities and differences as well as evolutionary relationships between organisms. The major principle of comparative genomics is that common features of two organisms will often be encoded within the DNA that is evolutionarily conserved between them. Therefore, comparative genomic approaches start with making some form of alignment of genome sequences and looking for orthologous sequences in the aligned genomes and checking to what extent those sequences are conserved. Based on these, genome and molecular evolution are inferred and this may in turn be put in the context of, for example, phenotypic evolution or population genetics.
Mitochondrial 5-demethoxyubiquinone hydroxylase, also known as coenzyme Q7, hydroxylase, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the COQ7 gene. The clk-1 (clock-1) gene encodes this protein that is necessary for ubiquinone biosynthesis in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans and other eukaryotes. The mouse version of the gene is called mclk-1 and the human, fruit fly and yeast homolog COQ7.
Caenorhabditis briggsae is a small nematode, closely related to Caenorhabditis elegans. The differences between the two species are subtle. The male tail in C. briggsae has a slightly different morphology from C. elegans. Other differences include changes in vulval precursor competence and the placement of the excretory duct opening. C. briggsae is frequently used to study the differences between it and the more intimately understood C. elegans, especially at the DNA and protein sequence level. Several mutant strains of C. briggsae have also been isolated that facilitate genetic analysis of this organism. C. briggsae, like C. elegans, is a hermaphrodite. The genome sequence for C. briggsae was determined in 2003.
Caenorhabditis is a genus of nematodes which live in bacteria-rich environments like compost piles, decaying dead animals and rotting fruit. The name comes from Greek: caeno- ; rhabditis = rod-like. In 1900, Maupas initially named the species Rhabditis elegans, Osche placed it in the subgenus Caenorhabditis in 1952, and in 1955, Dougherty raised Caenorhabditis to the status of genus.
Caenorhabditis brenneri is a small nematode, closely related to the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Its genome is being sequenced by Washington University in St. Louis Genome Sequencing Center. This species has previously been referred to as C. sp 4 and Caenorhabditis sp. CB5161, but was recently formally described and given its scientific name. This name is in honor of Sydney Brenner, recognizing his pioneering role in starting active research in the field of C. elegans biology and development.
Androdioecy is a reproductive system characterized by the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites. Androdioecy is rare in comparison with the other major reproductive systems: dioecy, gynodioecy and hermaphroditism. In animals, androdioecy has been considered a stepping stone in the transition from dioecy to hermaphroditism, and vice versa.
Calpain-5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CAPN5 gene.
Richard Michael Durbin, FRS, born 30 December 1960, is a British computational biologist. He is currently an Associate Faculty member at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Professor of Genetics at the University of Cambridge. Previously, he was Senior Group Leader at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute for over 20 years and an Honorary Professor of Computational genomics at the University of Cambridge.
Caenorhabditis remanei is a species of nematode found in North America and Europe, and likely lives throughout the temperate world. Several strains have been developed in the laboratory.
Caenorhabditis japonica is a species of nematodes in the genus Caenorhabditis. Its genome was sequenced by the Genome Center at Washington University. This gonochoristic species is found in the 'Japonica' group, the sister clade to the 'Elegans' group, in the 'Elegans' supergroup.
WormBase is an online biological database about the biology and genome of the nematode model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and contains information about other related nematodes. WormBase is used by the C. elegans research community both as an information resource and as a place to publish and distribute their results. The database is regularly updated with new versions being released every two months. WormBase is one of the organizations participating in the Generic Model Organism Database (GMOD) project.
Pristionchus is a genus of nematodes (roundworms) in the family Diplogastridae that currently includes more than 50 described species. They are known mainly as non-parasitic associates of insects, especially beetles, while others have been reported from soil, organic matter, or rotting wood. The genus includes P. pacificus, a satellite model organism to the well-studied nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
Caenorhabditis elegans- microbe interactions are defined as any interaction that encompasses the association with microbes that temporarily or permanently live in or on the nematode C. elegans. The microbes can engage in a commensal, mutualistic or pathogenic interaction with the host. These include bacterial, viral, unicellular eukaryotic, and fungal interactions. In nature C. elegans harbours a diverse set of microbes. In contrast, C. elegans strains that are cultivated in laboratories for research purposes have lost the natural associated microbial communities and are commonly maintained on a single bacterial strain, Escherichia coli OP50. However, E. coli OP50 does not allow for reverse genetic screens because RNAi libraries have only been generated in strain HT115. This limits the ability to study bacterial effects on host phenotypes. The host microbe interactions of C. elegans are closely studied because of their orthologs in humans. Therefore, the better we understand the host interactions of C. elegans the better we can understand the host interactions within the human body.
Nematocida parisii is a parasitic species of Microsporidia fungi found in wild isolates of the common nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. The fungus forms spores and replicates in the intestines before leaving the host.
Caenorhabditis tropicalis is a species of Caenorhabditis nematodes, belonging to the Elegans super-group and Elegans group within the genus. It is a close relative of C. wallacei.C. tropicalis is collected frequently in tropical South America, Caribbean islands, and various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans from rotting fruit, flowers and stems. C. tropicalis was referred to as “C. sp. 11” prior to 2014.
Caenorhabditis monodelphis is a species of nematodes in the genus Caenorhabditis. It was first collected by J. Raschka in Berlin, Germany in 2001. A second isolate was collected from Norway. It is a freeliving species found in galleries inside of the fungus Ganoderma applanatum (Polyporaceae) which grew on the stump of a tree a few centimeters above ground. It is phoretic on beetles of the species Cis castaneus.
Caenorhabditis sp. 35 is a yet unnamed species of nematodes in the genus Caenorhabditis. Two isolates were discovered in 2013 by N. Kanzaki from Banda Aceh, Indonesia, associated with Ficus hispida.
