Team:Queens Canada/Project/Intro
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<regulartext><i>C. elegans </i> has been a long standing model organism for multicellular eukaryotes due to its simplistic structure and features which, despite being base in nature, provide highly analogous representations of biological processes in other model organisms. Generally, model organisms must have a set of common traits which allow for ease of use and observation such as rapid maturation and small growth cycles, small size, availability, and tractability. <i>C. elegans</i> is a particularly attractive model organism not only for its adherence to the above criteria but due to several other factors as well. </regulartext> <p> | <regulartext><i>C. elegans </i> has been a long standing model organism for multicellular eukaryotes due to its simplistic structure and features which, despite being base in nature, provide highly analogous representations of biological processes in other model organisms. Generally, model organisms must have a set of common traits which allow for ease of use and observation such as rapid maturation and small growth cycles, small size, availability, and tractability. <i>C. elegans</i> is a particularly attractive model organism not only for its adherence to the above criteria but due to several other factors as well. </regulartext> <p> | ||
- | <regulartext> <i>C. elegans</i> is a transparent, nonparasitic nematode approximately 1mm in length and is found in most temperate soil climates. It is easily sustained in the lab through use of agar plates or liquid cultures at laboratory temperatures. It can feed solely on <i>E. coli</i>, and is hence cheaply cultivated. Its transparency allows for the study of cellular differentiation and tissue mapping via fluorescing proteins. The rapidity with which <i>C.elegans</i>reproduces and the large number of offspring generated per hermaphrodite leads to the production of high numbers of offspring in a short amount of time. </regulartext> <p> | + | <regulartext> <i>C. elegans</i> is a transparent, nonparasitic nematode approximately 1mm in length and is found in most temperate soil climates. It is easily sustained in the lab through use of agar plates or liquid cultures at laboratory temperatures. It can feed solely on <i>E. coli</i>, and is hence cheaply cultivated. Its transparency allows for the study of cellular differentiation and tissue mapping via fluorescing proteins. The rapidity with which <i>C.elegans</i> reproduces and the large number of offspring generated per hermaphrodite leads to the production of high numbers of offspring in a short amount of time. </regulartext> <p> |
<regulartext>A population of <i>C. elegans </i> is comprised of two sexes: hermaphrodites and males, the former being predominant in any given population. Because of a lack of male-hermaphroditic mating, the genotypes of worms produced in culture remain generally homogenous. While the life span of a worm can be anywhere from 2-3 weeks in length, the worms themselves reach maturation within 3 days. At this point, all expression patterns in their cells are considered adult and the number of somatic cells within the worm remains at a constant of 959 for hermaphrodites and 1031 for males. The expected results of genetic construct microinjection can be detected and tested at this point. </regulartext> <p> | <regulartext>A population of <i>C. elegans </i> is comprised of two sexes: hermaphrodites and males, the former being predominant in any given population. Because of a lack of male-hermaphroditic mating, the genotypes of worms produced in culture remain generally homogenous. While the life span of a worm can be anywhere from 2-3 weeks in length, the worms themselves reach maturation within 3 days. At this point, all expression patterns in their cells are considered adult and the number of somatic cells within the worm remains at a constant of 959 for hermaphrodites and 1031 for males. The expected results of genetic construct microinjection can be detected and tested at this point. </regulartext> <p> |
Revision as of 23:25, 22 October 2011