WormBook is a new, online book currently under development that will be an up-to-date resource for a range of topics relevant to C. elegans biology. Due to the exponential growth of the field, both The Nematode C. elegans and C. elegans II are now out-of-date. The growing complexity and sheer number of topics can no longer be done justice by another print version. Instead, utilizing an online format for WormBook will afford numerous advantages over print. WormBook will serve as a tightly linked component of WormBase, providing a context to elaborate on the facts that WormBase provides and offer a more general treatment of the information. Chapters in WormBook will be extensively cross-referenced among themselves, as well as in and out of Worm Base. WormBook will be replacing and building on the functions of the two previous print books, as well as Worm Breeder's Gazette. The WormBook Editorial Board has already begun soliciting contributions from authors and we plan to have it freely available by June, 2005.
Epidemiological evidence suggests positive correlations between pesticide usage and the incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD). To further explore this relationship, we used wild type (N2) Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) to test the following hypothesis: Exposure to a glyphosate-containing herbicide (TD) and/or a manganese/zinc ethylene-bis-dithiocarbamate-containing fungicide (MZ) may lead to neurotoxicity. We exposed N2 worms to varying concentrations of TD or MZ for 30 min (acute) or 24h (chronic). To replicate agricultural usage, a third population was exposed to TD (acute) followed by MZ (acute). For acute TD exposure, the LC(50)=8.0% (r(2)=0.6890), while the chronic LC(50)=5.7% (r(2)=0.9433). Acute MZ exposure led to an LC(50)=0.22% (r(2)=0.5093), and chronic LC(50)=0.50% (r(2)=0.9733). The combined treatment for TD+MZ yielded an LC(50)=12.5% (r(2)=0.6367). Further studies in NW1229 worms, a pan-neuronally green fluorescent protein (GFP) tagged strain, indicated a statistically significant (p<0.05) and dose-dependent reduction in green pixel number in neurons of treated worms following each paradigm. This reduction of pixel number was accompanied by visual neurodegeneration in photomicrographs. For the dual treatment, Bliss analysis suggested synergistic interactions. Taken together, these data suggest neuronal degeneration occurs in C. elegans following treatment with environmentally relevant concentrations of TD or MZ.
Modification, by the addition of lipid-derived groups, is an important determinant of the correct expression of a variety of polypeptides involved in signal transduction. Myristic and palmitic acid are the predominant fatty acids attached to proteins in eucaryotes. Myristic acid is normally linked, cotranslationally, via an amide bond to an N-terminal glycine. In contrast, palmitic acid attachment occurs post-translationally via an alkali-labile ester or thioester linkage...
How does physiological state affect the reproductive behavior of an organism? Two new studies in Caenorhabditis elegans implicate an ancient serotonergic neuronal circuit in the link between these two outputs- reproductive behavior and physiology.
In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Wilson et al (2012) elegantly discovered an important new axis for intestinal homeostasis and cancer, using an RNAi screen to enhance the RAS-induced multivulva (MUV) phenotype in Caenorhabditis elegans.