Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a transparent worm frequently used by biologists as a model organism.

Classification of Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is an eukaryote in the Nematodes phylum (roundworms).

Characteristics of Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a eukaryote in the Nematodes phylum (roundworms). Each of its cells (951 for the hermaphrodite worm, 1090 for the young adult male) has a well-defined role known by biologists. It reproduces every three days when it is grown at 20°C and can live for three weeks. It can also produce resistant larvae that can survive for several months.

This worm has a genome of 97 million basic pairs distributed over 6 pairs of chromosomes, coding for about 20,000 genes.

Use of Caenorhabditis elegans in the laboratory

Caenorhabditis elegans is useful for biologists as it allows them to study embryonic development, the nervous system and apoptosis.