Caenorhabditis elegans

E92409

Caenorhabditis elegans is a small, transparent roundworm widely used as a model organism in biology and genetics due to its simple anatomy, fully mapped cell lineage, and well-characterized nervous system.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
C. elegans 1

Statements (86)

Predicate Object
instanceOf model organism
nematode species
alternativeLarvalStage dauer larva
autosomeCount 5
biosafetyLevel BSL-1
bodyCavityType pseudocoelomate
bodyLengthAdult about 1 millimeter
bodyPlan bilaterally symmetrical
bodyWallMuscleCells 95 in adult hermaphrodite
cellCountAdultHermaphrodite 959 somatic cells
cellLineage fully mapped
chromosomeCount 6
commonName Caenorhabditis elegans self-linksurface differs
surface form: C. elegans
connectomeStatus whole-animal wiring diagram mapped
culturedOn agar plates with E. coli lawn
dauerInducedBy crowding
high temperature
limited food
describedBy Émile Maupas
developmentalStages L1 larva
L2 larva
L3 larva
L4 larva
adult
egg
developmentTimeEggToAdultAt20C about 3 days
domain Eukarya
surface form: Eukaryota
family Rhabditidae
feedingType bacterivore
geneCount approximately 20000 protein-coding genes
genomeSequenced true
genomeSequencingCompleted 1998
genomeSizeBasePairs approximately 100 million
genus Caenorhabditis
habitat decaying organic matter
soil
hasCuticle collagenous cuticle
hasOrganSystem digestive system
excretory system
muscular system
nervous system
reproductive system
hasOrthologsWith humans
hermaphroditeChromosomes XX
kingdom Animalia
lifespanAt20C about 2–3 weeks
locomotionSubstrate agar surfaces
liquid media
maleChromosomes XO
molting four molts during development
movementType sinusoidal crawling or swimming
nervousSystemNeuronCount 302 neurons in adult hermaphrodite
notableStrain N2 Bristol
optimalGrowthTemperature around 20 °C
oxygenRequirement aerobic
pathogenicToHumans false
percentageHumanGenesWithOrthologs over 40 percent
phylum Nematoda
referenceStrain N2 Bristol
reproductionType male-female sexual reproduction
mostly self-fertilizing hermaphrodite
researchResourceCenter Caenorhabditis Genetics Center
RNAiDeliveryMethod feeding
injection
soaking
RNAiSensitivity highly susceptible to RNA interference
sexChromosomeCount 1
sexes hermaphrodite
male
spaceBiologyUse flown on space missions
standardLabFood Escherichia coli OP50
taxonRank species
temperatureRangeLabCulture approximately 15–25 °C
transgenesisMethod CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing
MosSCI single-copy insertion
microinjection of DNA into gonad
transparency body is optically transparent
usedInResearchField aging research
behavioral genetics
cell death research
developmental biology
genetics
neurobiology
systems biology
toxicology
yearDescribed 1900

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Caenorhabditis elegans commonName Caenorhabditis elegans self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: C. elegans
Nematoda genomeModelOrganism Caenorhabditis elegans
Ecdysozoa includesModelOrganism Caenorhabditis elegans
Nematoda includesTaxon Caenorhabditis elegans
Nematoda notableSpecies Caenorhabditis elegans