Question: what are Caenorhanditis elegans

Rachel McMullan answered on 12 Nov 2015:

Hi
Caenorhabditis elegans are nematode worms. That means they’re quite different from earthworms which are round worms. They’re normally found on rotting fruit and on compost heaps but we grow them in little dishes in the lab.
They’ve been used in labs since the late 60’s when a scientist called Sydney Brenner was looking for a system he could use to understand his two big questions; how do we develop from a single cell into a person and what controls our behaviour.
Although worms are very simple they can be really useful to scientist because they have quite a bit in common with humans. We know a lot about them; we have sequenced all their DNA, in fact they were the first multicellular organism to be sequenced. We also know where every cell comes from and how each neurone is connected. That’s a bit like having a complete wiring diagram for the worm’s brain. This is something we’re trying to do in humans at the moment but the worm version has been around for quite a while now.
There are lots of reasons why they’re useful to scientists. Here’s a link to some more info if you’re interested;
https://cbs.umn.edu/cgc/what-c-elegans