Aging in C. elegans

Abstract

In 1974, Sydney Brenner published an elegant paper that described the genetic system of Caenorhabditis elegans and led to its use in research on a wide variety of topics, including aging (Brenner, 1974). Its small size (1mm as an adult) and determinate cell lineage has allowed a description of the entire somatic cell lineage from the one-cell stage to the adult (Sulston and Horvitz, 1977; Deppe et al., 1978; Kimble and Hirsh, 1979; Suslton et al., personal communication). Its ease of culture makes it an organism of choice for studies of various aspects of anatomy and physiology, including muscle formation and function (Zengel and Epstein, 1980; Mackenzie and Epstein, 1980), cuticle formation (Cox et al, 1981), neuroanatomy (Ward et al, 1975; Ware et al, 1975; Sulston et al, 1975), and behavior (Dusenbery, 1980). Several genes have been cloned by recombinant DNA techniques ablation (Kimble, 1981; Laufer and von Ehrenstin, 1981) procedures, as well as most of the modern molecular techniques, are in use.