Caenorhabditis elegans A tiny roundworm with considerable influence.
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is barely visible to the naked eye. In fact, this minute roundworm grows no larger than 1 mm. Despite its diminutive size, the worm is very important, especially for scientific research.
What is Caenorhabditis elegans?
C. elegans is a free-living roundworm found in soil, mainly in temperate climates. Although barely visible to the naked eye, it has captured the hearts of scientists around the world. Due to its simple anatomy and short life cycle, it has become one of the most researched organisms in genetics and neuroscience.
Why is C. elegans so important?
Since it was first discovered in 1900, C. elegans has grown to become a popular model organism in biomedical science. The worm has only 959 cells, but many of its processes resemble those of humans, including the functioning of its nervous system function and its cell development. Consequently, research using C. elegans has led to important breakthroughs in our understanding of genetics, ageing and even diseases such as cancer.
Scientific breakthroughs
In 2002, three researchers won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their use of C. elegans to research the genetic basis of cell death. This knowledge has become crucial to the treatment of a variety of human diseases. And that’s not all: the key role of C. elegans in groundbreaking research has helped to unravel the human genome and enhance our understanding of neurological disorders.
Two sexes
Caenorhabditis elegans come in two sexes: hermaphrodite and male. The hermaphrodites have both male and female genitalia, so do not necessarily require a male to fertilise their eggs. They produce their own sperm from an early stage, and store it in their bodies.However, even though they can fertilise their own eggs, the hermaphroditic worms favour fertilisation by a male as this enhances genetic variation and is therefore evolutionarily beneficial. The only problem with this is that just 0.1% of all C. elegans are male.
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C. elegans is just one of the many microscopic organisms on display at ARTIS-Micropia, each and every one of them with its own unique role in our world. Come by and discover them all!