Roush W (1997) Science "Worm longevity gene cloned."

Roush W

[Science, 1997]

A gene that helps control the life-span of the nematode C. elegans encodes the worm version of the insulin receptor, thereby providing a possible link between aging and glucose metabolism.

Keller W et al. (2002) Nature "Gene regulation: reviving the message."

Martin G, Keller W

[Nature, 2002]

O'Rourke SM et al. (2005) Nature "Genomics: frontiers of gene function."

Bowerman B, O'Rourke SM

[Nature, 2005]

Emmons SW (1996) Nature "Simple worms, complex genes."

Emmons SW

[Nature, 1996]

Classical results in experimental embryology established long ago that cells of the developing animal have a regional identity. They can be characterized not only as 'skin', 'nerve' and 'bone', but also as 'arm' and 'leg'. But how cells know what body region they belong to, and what to do there, is not known. Results reported in this issue and in Development describe unexpected properties of a key player, one of the Hox genes-the dynamic, lineage-based regulation of a Hox gene in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is at odds with a traditional view of Hox genes as relatively fixed markers of regional identity.

Laskey R et al. (1977) Nature "Genes in development."

Laskey R, Lawrence P, De Robertis E

[Nature, 1977]

Participants in two days of talks held at the Accademia Lincei in Rome-the oldest scientific foundatin in the modern world, tried to tackle the ancient problem of how eggs plus genes produce animals. It was symptomatic of the renewed interest in Drosophila that the whole of the first day was devoted to that fly...

Pennisi E (1996) Science "Worm genes imply a master clock."

Pennisi E

[Science, 1996]

What 's the secret to long life? For the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, it's slow, easy living, in which all life's events occur in a leisurely rhythm, according to work described on page 1010 of this issue. The new research, by Siegfried Hekimi and Bernard Lakowski of McGill University in Montreal, identifies four genes that, when mutated, can make these worms use energy more efficiently, feed and swim at a slower pace-and live many times their normal life-span. Some of the experimental nematodes lived for almost 2 months, far longer than their expected 9 days.

Akam M (1986) Nature "Developmental genes. Mediators of cell communication?"

Akam M

[Nature, 1986]

The control of development operates at many different levels. In recent months this has become easy to forget, with the nucleus the focus of attention and the DNA-binding properties of the homoeo box taking much of the limelight. Now the sequencing of two other 'controlling' gene, one from insects and the other from nematodes, has revealed homology with mammalian proteins of very different function. The lin-12 gene of Caaenorhabditis elegans, which controls patterns of cell lineage, and the Notch gene of Drosophila, which plays a role in the early development of the nervous system, both encode proteins homologous with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the structurally related family of mammalian proteins. Other members of this family are all membrane-bound or secreted proteins, suggesting that Notch and lin-12 act at or beyond the cell membrane, perhaps to mediate cell communication.

Herman RK (1993) Nature "Neurobiology. Genes make worms behave."

Herman RK

[Nature, 1993]

Twenty years ago Sydney Brenner described an electrode-less plan for attacking the problems of neural development and physiology in the small nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. He proposed to set the groundwork by reconstructing the entire nervous system of the worm by serial section electron microscopy. Given the resulting wiring diagram, he thought it might be possible to make guesses as to how the nervous system worked. A second aspect of his plan was genetics: single-gene mutants exhibiting aberrant behaviour, such as uncoordinated movement, were to be analysed to address the question of how genes specify development and function of the nervous system. In two papers beginning on page 334 of this issue, McIntire et al. demonstrate that work on Brenner's plan, with a few tricks added over the years, is progressing very nicely.

Hooper C (1991) The Journal of NIH Research "Old-aged mutant ninja nematodes' cool anti-age gene."

Hooper C

[The Journal of NIH Research, 1991]

Cowabugna, dudes! Those lean, gene-revealing machines have scored a most totally excellent victory in the battle to understand aging. We are, of course, talking about mutant ninja nematodes here. At a conference on aging in January at Cold Spring Harbor's Banbury Center, Thomas Johnson of the Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado in Boulder brought some dudes and dudettes from Capitol Hill up to date on the latest awesome achievements of the bodacious beasts know as Caenorhabditis elegans.

Vogel G (2002) Science "Neuroscience. Genes keep neurons' house in order."

Vogel G

[Science, 2002]

As any homeowner knows, timely maintenance is vital for keeping a building functioning properly after construction is finished. The same is evidently true for the complex architecture of the nervous system - at least in the roundworm. On page 686, neuroscientists Oliver Hobert, Oscar Aurelio, and David Hall describe a new family of proteins that help keep the wiring of the worm's nervous system tangle free.