How the nematode C. elegans maintains balance in a changing environment. 

We currently support three protocols. We can also do custom packages.

The Seattle Protocol

The SEATTLE PROTOCOL uses wild type C. elegans and moves them from low salt to high salt plates. The curriculum uses the lens of gene regulation to explain how wild type worms respond to a change in the environment by regulating glycerol production. The SEATTLE PROTOCOL requires half as many materials. It introduces concepts and models for which teachers in Seattle Public Schools have received professional development and are not well-detailed in this curriculum (specifically in lessons 4, 5 and 6).

The original GSEO Protocol

The original GSEO PROTOCOL compares wild type C. elegans to an osmotic mutant strain by moving both wild type and mutant worms from low salt to high salt plates. The curriculum uses the lens of transcription, translation, and mutation to explain how a single nucleotide change in C. elegans results in a difference in how the wild type and mutant worms respond to osmotic stress.

The ISB Systems Med Protocol

This supports the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) Systems Medicine protocol.