Methods are described for the isolation, complementation and mapping of mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans, a small free-living nematode worm. About 300 EMS-induced mutants affecting behavior and morphology have been characterized and about one hundred genes have been defined. Mutations in 77 of these alter the movement of the animal. Estimates of the induced mutation frequency of both the visib...

One of the many aspects of the relationships between parasite infections and allergic diseases is the possibility that allergens from parasites enhance the TH2 responses, especially IgE production, in allergic diseases such as asthma. In this review we discuss about the allergenic composition of the nematode Ascaris lumbricoides and their potential impact on allergy sensitization and asthma pat...

The free-living marine nematode Dracognomus simplex (Gerlach, 1954) Allen &Noffsinger, 1978 was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology of males and females is described and illustrated in detail. In addition to the typical and modified adhesion tubes, a new type of posterior adhesion tube was discovered. A neotype is proposed for Dracognomus simplex, and D. simplex sensu ...

Genetic studies undertaken in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans have demonstrated the importance of neuropeptidergic signalling in nematode physiology. Disruption of this signalling may have deleterious phenotypic consequences, including altered locomotion, feeding behaviour, and reproduction. Neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that transduce many of these signals therefor...

the effects of poultry manure and cow dung in comparison with the nematicide, carbofuran on the yield of okra infested with root-knot nematode meloidogyne incognita race 2 were investigated. two plots of 17×11 m, each naturally infested with the mentioned nematode, were selected for the study. treatments were poultry manure and cow dung each at the rates of 5 and 10 t ha-1, carbofuran 3g at the...

The control of gastrointestinal nematodes relies at present mostly on antihelmintic treatments using synthetic molecules. This approach, however, has led to the appearance of resistance to some types of antihelmintics which, together with the need to cut down on the use of chemicals, has fostered the development of other control methods, such as biological control, which is the use of living or...

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway signaling plays a critical role in extracellular growth and homeostasis, including basement membrane remodeling and long bone growth. In the small free-living nematode C. elegans, BMP signaling regulates body size development and drug response through an unknown physiological mechanism. Our lab and others have shown animals lacking BMP signaling (bmp(-))...

Ornithine decarboxylase has been identified and characterized in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Unlike previously described ornithine decarboxylases, the enzyme activity is membrane-associated and remains in the membrane fraction after treatment with high salt, detergents or phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Ornithine has an apparent Km value of 2.7 microM for orn...