Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I General Principles of Cell Death
- Part II Cell Death in Tissues and Organs
- Part III Cell Death in Nonmammalian Organisms
- 33 Programmed Cell Death in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 34 Caenorhabditis elegans and Apoptosis
- 35 Apoptotic Cell Death in Drosophila
- 36 Analysis of Cell Death in Zebrafish
- Plate section
- References
34 - Caenorhabditis elegans and Apoptosis
from Part III - Cell Death in Nonmammalian Organisms
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Part I General Principles of Cell Death
- Part II Cell Death in Tissues and Organs
- Part III Cell Death in Nonmammalian Organisms
- 33 Programmed Cell Death in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- 34 Caenorhabditis elegans and Apoptosis
- 35 Apoptotic Cell Death in Drosophila
- 36 Analysis of Cell Death in Zebrafish
- Plate section
- References
Summary
One point that emerges from the studies of programmed cell death in C. elegans and other organisms is the striking similarity of genes and gene pathways among organisms that are as superficially distinct as worms and humans.
– H. Robert Horvitz, 2002 Nobel LectureOverview
Since Caenorhabditis elegans was pioneered as a research tool in the early 1970s, it has become a window for peering into programmed cell death (PCD), also known as apoptosis. A soil-dwelling organism that is 1 mm in length and transparent, C. elegans is well suited for microscopic inquiry. Its reproductive cycle lasts 2 to 3 days and begins with either self-fertilization of a hermaphrodite or cross-fertilization between a hermaphrodite and a male. Forward genetic approaches using random mutagenesis and phenotypic screening, combined with a rapid generation turnover, have made C. elegans a powerful platform for discovery of new genes in PCD.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- ApoptosisPhysiology and Pathology, pp. 397 - 406Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011