Caenorhabditis elegans: a model organism

C. elegans Profile

*Small, cute, well behaved, ~1 mm long from head to tail.

*Free-living, non-parasitic soil nematode that can be safely used in the laboratory.

*Feeds on bacteria, such as HB101 and OP50.

*Brood size: A hermaphrodite can produce about 300-350 offspring under self-fertilization and more if it mates with males.

*Can be easily and cheaply cultivated in large numbers on agar plates containing bacteria lawn, ~10,000 worms/6cm petri dish.

*Rapid life cycle, 3 days at 20 degree Celsius from eggs -> L1-L4 -> adults -> eggs.

*Life span: 2-3 weeks.

*Sequenced genome, ~19,000 genes.

*Complete cell lineages with constant cell position and cell number, so it is possible to know which cell is derived from which.

*Starved worms can stay as dauers, a developmentally arrested stage, for months, and recover quickly upon re-feeding.

*Can be frozen in freezing solution at –80 degree Celsius or LN2 for long-term storage.

*Powerful forward genetic (EMS mutagenesis), reverse genetic (RNAi) and molecular tools.

*Transparent cuticle makes it very easy to do live imaging.

*Easy to make transgenic animals by injecting DNA or dsRNA into syncytial gonads. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agBcLFMA1vI to learn more about worm microinjection.

*Please visit http://www.wormbook.org/ to learn more about the biology, methods, and protocols of C elegans.