Abstract
The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is the simplest animal model organism to work with. Substantial knowledge and tools have accumulated over 50 years of C. elegans research. The use of C. elegans relating to parasitic nematodes from a basic biology standpoint or an applied perspective has increased in recent years. The wealth of information gained on the model organism, the use of the powerful approaches and technologies that have advanced C. elegans research to parasitic nematodes and the enormous success of the omics fields have contributed to bridge the divide between C. elegans and parasite nematode researchers. We review key fields, such as genomics, drug discovery and genetics, where C. elegans and nematode parasite research have convened. We advocate the use of C. elegans as a model to study helminth metabolism, a neglected area ready to advance. How emerging technologies being used in C. elegans can pave the way for parasitic nematode research is discussed.
Highlights
The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was introduced as a model organism more than half a century ago by Sidney Brenner (Brenner, 2002)
The phenomenon of parasitism cannot be fully understood with a free-living nematode, C. elegans is a powerful model to address many biological questions of parasitic nematodes
The wealth of knowledge on C. elegans that has accumulated over the years provides key information on numerous genes, gene products and biological processes
Summary
The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was introduced as a model organism more than half a century ago by Sidney Brenner (Brenner, 2002). This 1 mm free-living soil nematode has been extensively studied in the laboratory, and C. elegans research has contributed to the discovery and understanding of many biological processes relevant to other multicellular organisms. For those who work in parasitic nematodes, C. elegans provides additional advantages. WormBase (http://www.wormbase.org) is a central repository for research data on the biology, genetics and genomics of C. elegans and other nematodes.
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