c. Elegans 101

Question 1

What is a c. Elegan?

Answer 1

A non-parasitic, soil-dwelling nematode worm

Question 2

How long to adult worms live?

Answer 2

3 weeks

Question 3

How many cells are in a c. Elegan?

Answer 3

959 cells

Question 4

How many cells of a c. Elegan are neurons?

Answer 4

302 cells

Question 5

How many synaptic connections are there for c. Elegans?

Answer 5

7000

Question 6

What percentage of human disease gene have worm homologues?

Answer 6

40%

Question 7

What do c. Elegans lack which make it really interesting to study epilepsy?

Answer 7

Voltage-gated sodium channels

Question 8

Where does GABA in c. Elegans primarily act?

Answer 8

Neuromuscular synapses

Question 9

What does GABA in c. Elegans do?

Answer 9

Can act as both inhibitory and excitatory. But is mainly used to relax the body muscles during locomotion (inhibit)

Question 10

What are the mechanisms that cause c. Elegans to bend?

Answer 10

Contracting muscles on one side of the body while relaxing muscles via GABA innervations on the opposite side

Question 11

How many GABA subunits are there in c. Elegans?

Answer 11

Seven

Question 12

Name all of the GABA subunits (7) in c. Elegans

Answer 12

UNC-25, UNC-35, UNC-36, UNC-37, UNC-38, UNC-49, EXP-1

Question 13

What are the advantages of using c. Elegans as an animal model

Answer 13

Conserved features of the nervous system function at the level of ions and neurotransmitters. Inexpensive to manage. Short generation time. 40% human disease genes are homologous to worms. Transparency allows for in vivo monitoring. Ease of genetic manipulation

Question 14

What are the disadvantages of using c. Elegans as an animal model? (2)

Answer 14

Lack of relevance for the nervous system. Results are not always translational to humans.