Nov 24, 2017 09:04 AM
(This post was last modified: Nov 24, 2017 09:22 AM by Yazata.)
Caenorhabditis elegans, better known as C. elegans is a tiny roundworm about 1 mm in length that isn't parasitic or dangerous in any way and has no economic value. It lives its life quietly in the soil and eats bacteria.
But despite its diminutive size, thousands of scientists are devoted to studying this tiny worm. They even hold international worm conferences.
Why? Because it's pretty much the model multicellular organism.
Only a millimeter long, it can be treated much as if it was a microorganism, grown on agar in petri dishes and fed bacteria. So it's convenient.
Its entire body is transparent and has a mere 959 cells, all of which have been mapped. This includes 81 muscle cells and just 302 neurons in most cases. Yet the worm is a complete multicellular organism, just like we are. It has functional epidermis, muscles, digestive, nervous and reproductive systems.
"The worm is conceived as a single cell which undergoes a complex process of development, starting with embryonic cleavage, proceeding through morphogenesis and growth to the adult. It has a nervous system with a 'brain' (the circumpharyngeal nerve ring). It exhibits behavior and is even capable of rudimentary learning. It produces sperm and eggs, mates and reproduces."
Its genome has already been mapped. So this is an ideal organism for studying how gene transcription and proteomics result in the development of an entire organism, on a tractable scale. The 302 neurons make it an ideal organism for studying fundamental neuroscience on a comprehensible scale.
https://cbs.umn.edu/cgc/what-c-elegans
Everything you ever wanted to know (or didn't realize you wanted to know) about these worms, their evolution, anatomy, behavior, development and genomics can be found in the online Wormbook
http://www.wormbook.org/
But despite its diminutive size, thousands of scientists are devoted to studying this tiny worm. They even hold international worm conferences.
Why? Because it's pretty much the model multicellular organism.
Only a millimeter long, it can be treated much as if it was a microorganism, grown on agar in petri dishes and fed bacteria. So it's convenient.
Its entire body is transparent and has a mere 959 cells, all of which have been mapped. This includes 81 muscle cells and just 302 neurons in most cases. Yet the worm is a complete multicellular organism, just like we are. It has functional epidermis, muscles, digestive, nervous and reproductive systems.
"The worm is conceived as a single cell which undergoes a complex process of development, starting with embryonic cleavage, proceeding through morphogenesis and growth to the adult. It has a nervous system with a 'brain' (the circumpharyngeal nerve ring). It exhibits behavior and is even capable of rudimentary learning. It produces sperm and eggs, mates and reproduces."
Its genome has already been mapped. So this is an ideal organism for studying how gene transcription and proteomics result in the development of an entire organism, on a tractable scale. The 302 neurons make it an ideal organism for studying fundamental neuroscience on a comprehensible scale.
https://cbs.umn.edu/cgc/what-c-elegans
Everything you ever wanted to know (or didn't realize you wanted to know) about these worms, their evolution, anatomy, behavior, development and genomics can be found in the online Wormbook
http://www.wormbook.org/
