The Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
1988; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; Linguagem: Inglês
Autores Tópico(s)
Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
ResumoIn 1965 Sydney Brenner chose free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a promising model system for a concerted genetic, ultrastructural, and behavioral attack on development and function of a simple nervous system. Since then, with help of a growing number of investigators, knowledge about biology of the worm has accumulated at a steadily accelerating pace to extent that C. elegans is now probably most completely understood metazoan in terms of anatomy, genetics, development, and behavior. The past few years have seen completion of two major long-term projects that provide new insights into C. elegans development and lay important groundwork for future investigation: completion of cell lineages of both sexes, from zygote to adult, and description of complete anatomy at level of electron microscope resolution, providing a complete wiring diagram of cell contacts in animal. Recent years have also brought first successes in molecularly cloning genes of developmental interest defined only by mutation, using transposon tagging as a generally applicable method for identification of desired DNA sequences. Reintroduction of cloned DNA sequences into genome has recently been accomplished. A physical map of genome has been assembled with a combination of cosmid and YAC genes. This Book of Worm serves as a reference source for C. elegans investigators as well as an introductory monograph for other biologists.
Referência(s)