C. elegans

American  

[el-i-ganz] / ˈɛl ɪˌgænz /

noun

1. a bacteriophagic, soil-dwelling nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) whose genome was the first to be fully sequenced.

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C. elegans Scientific  

/ sē′ĕl′ə-gănz /

1. A nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans) that lives in soil, feeds on bacteria, and reaches lengths of about 1 mm (0.04 inch). It was the first animal whose genome was completely sequenced, and is widely used as a “model organism” by researchers in genetics and developmental biology because it has a small genome and transparent skin.

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Example Sentences

Both conducted their research on the nematode worm - C. elegans.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2024

Thus opioid receptors are not found in invertebrate animals like the nematode C. elegans, the honeybee or the squid.

From Salon • Jul. 14, 2024

A new pre-print atlas of neurotransmitters maps out such chemicals in C. elegans, a millimeter-long multicellular roundworm often used in biological experiments.

From Salon • Jul. 14, 2024

Despite its tiny size, C. elegans has been a workhorse for scientists because so much of its biology, including early developmental stages, resembles that of higher organisms, including humans.

From Science Daily • May 23, 2024

Nandakumar says that because you can perform biochemistry and genetics readily with C. elegans, understanding the protein complexes that protects its telomeres will help researchers use it as a model organism for studying telomere biology.

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2024