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The Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans A Model Animal “Made for Microscopy”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

David H. Hall
David H. Hall*
Affiliation:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
*
[email protected]

Extract

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The small unassuming nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans is only one millimeter long and lives in the soil munching on bacteria. While many nematode (roundworm) species are parasites with medical or agricultural importance, C. elegans seems to harm no one. Yet, this animal has attained a status in medical science that compares to more complex organisms such as the mouse or fruit fly in its utility for scientific discovery. It has been the subject of thousands of studies dealing with topics as diverse as nutrition, aging, and nervous system development. About 5000 scientists are now pursuing this single species in hundreds of laboratories worldwide. In 2002, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three of the pioneers in establishing C. elegans as a “model organism“: Sydney Brenner, John Sulston, and H. Robert Horvitz. Why study worms?

Sydney Brenner first turned his attention to C. elegans in the 1960's. Working at the Medical Research Council in England, he was looking for a small animal with inexpensive tastes that could be easily cultured in the laboratory.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , March 2004 , pp. 8 - 13
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2004

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