Neuropeptides have central roles in the regulation of homoeostatic behaviours such as sleep and feeding. Caenorhabditis elegans displays sleep-like quiescence of locomotion and feeding during a larval transition stage called lethargus and feeds during active larval and adult stages. Here we show that the neuropeptide NLP-22 is a regulator of Caenorhabditis elegans sleep-like quiescence observed...

Transparent, free-living nematode worm. Unsegmented body plan with full set of differentiated tissues (neural, endoderm, ectoderm and muscle). Genome size approximately 97 Mb, as five autosomes and one X sex chromosome. Fully sequenced genome, which comprises approximately 20 000 predicted genes. Defined cell lineage. Has made major contribution to studies of development, cell-to-cell signallin...

The complete structure of the anterior sensory nervous system of the small nematode C . elegans has been determined by reconstruction from serial section electronmicrographs. There are 58 neurons in the tip of the head. Fiftytwo of these are arranged in sensilla. These include six inner labial sensilla, six outer labial sensilla, four cephalic sensilla and two amphids. Each sensillum consists o...

RNA interference is a new approach to knockdown gene expression, but effectiveness varies depending on the organism, cell type or target sequence. Studies with Caenorhabditis elegans have shown that subsets of cells including neurons are often resistant to RNA interference. We measured RNA interference using green fluorescent protein reporter strains and feeding, soaking and injection delivery ...

To study the molecular basis for predator-prey coevolution, we investigated how Caenorhabditis elegans responds to the predatory fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora. C. elegans and other nematodes were attracted to volatile compounds produced by A. oligospora. Gas-chromatographic mass-spectral analyses of A. oligospora-derived volatile metabolites identified several odors mimicking food cues attract...

Cells in a developing animal embryo become specified by the activation of cell-type-specific gene regulatory networks. The network that specifies gut nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been subject study for more than two decades. In this network, maternal factors SKN-1/Nrf and POP-1/TCF activate zygotic GATA factor cascade consisting regulators MED-1,2 → END-1,3 ELT-2,7, leading to specificat...

Here we provide the first genome-wide in vivo analysis of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger family in the model system Caenorhabditis elegans. We source all members of this family within the Caenorhabditis genus and reconstruct their phylogeny across humans and Drosophila melanogaster. Next, we provide a description of the expression pattern for each exchanger gene in C. elegans, revealing a wide expressi...