Susan Carlson et al. (2008) C.elegans Aging, Stress, Pathogenesis, and Heterochrony Meeting "Iowa State University ADVANCE Program's Collaborative Transformation: Advancing Women Faculty in STEM Fields"

Fred Janzen, Jan Thompson, Kristen Constant, Charles Glatz, Jo Anne Powell-Coffman, Bonnie Bowen, Sharon Bird, Lisa Larson, Susan Carlson, Diane Debinski, Sandra Gahn, Florence Hamrick, Carla Fehr

[C.elegans Aging, Stress, Pathogenesis, and Heterochrony Meeting, 2008]

The goal of the NSF-funded ISU ADVANCE program is to investigate the effectiveness of a multilevel collaborative effort to produce institutional transformation that results in the full participation of women faculty in science, technology, engineering and math fields in the university. Our approach focuses on transforming departmental cultures, practices, and structures, as well as university policies. Here, we summarize the findings of the Collaborative Transformation Project with the 3 departments that participated in the first round (Departments of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology; Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology; and Material Science and Engineering) (Bird and Hamrick 2008). A 3-step process for departmental transformation includes (1) focus groups to discuss aspects of department culture, practice and structure, (2) needs assessment meetings tailored to meet the needs of individual departments, and (3) collaborative problem solving sessions involving department faculty and ADVANCE program leaders. The findings include 6 major issues common to all 3 departments. Some issues do not specifically address gender or race, but these issues can have a disproportionate effect on underrepresented groups. Each of the 3 focal departments has developed strategies for change that address the issues identified in their departments. Examples of these strategies will be presented. Bird, Sharon R. and Florence A. Hamrick. 2008. ISU ADVANCE Collaborative Transformation Project: First Round Focal Department Synthesis Report. Ames, IA: Iowa State University ADVANCE Program. http://www.advance.iastate.edu

Schmidt GD et al. (1972) Proc. Helminthological Society of Washington "Nematode parasites of Oceanica. XVIII. C. avicola sp. n. (Rhabditidae) found in a bird from Taiwan."

Kuntz RE, Schmidt GD

[Proc. Helminthological Society of Washington, 1972]

Caenorhabditis avicola sp. n. is described from one male and three female nematodes from the intestine of a plumbeous water redstart, Rhyacornis fuliginosus (Passeriformes, Turdidae), from Taiwan. It is characterized by the extension of the anterior margins of the peloderan bursa into sharp points, giving the male posterior end an arrowheadlike shape in ventral view, and by the spicules, which are 95 u long. It is postulated that the worms were pseudoparasites, possibly symbionts of an insect ingested by the bird.

Sengupta P et al. (2014) Traffic "New insights into an old organelle: meeting report on biology of cilia and flagella."

Sengupta P, Barr MM

[Traffic, 2014]

The rising interest of the scientific community in cilia biology was evident from the fact that registration for the third FASEB conference on 'The Biology of Cilia and Flagella' closed out before the early bird deadline. Cilia and flagella are organelles of profound medical importance; defects in their structure or function result in a plethora of human diseases called ciliopathies. 240 clinicians and basic scientists from around the world gathered from 23 June 2013 to 28 June 2013 at Sheraton at the Falls, Niagara Falls, NY to present and discuss their research on this intensely studied subcellular structure. The meeting was organized by Gregory Pazour (University of Massachusetts Medical School), Bradley Yoder (University of Alabama-Birmingham), and Maureen Barr (Rutgers University) and was sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). Here, we report highlights, points of discussion, and emerging themes from this exciting meeting.

Gems DH et al. (1996) Worm Breeder's Gazette "Homosexual behavior among Australian males"

Gems DH, Riddle DL

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1996]

We have examined the behavior of males of several wild type C. elegans strains which deposit a mating plug over the vulva after mating: AB2, RC301, CB4855 (aka 'Mr. Vigorous') and PA-2 (Hodgkin WBG 11-5: 60; 12-2: 82). AB2, isolated by Riddle and Bird (WBG 8-2: 52) in Adelaide, Australia, differs from the other three strains as follows. Among populations of AB2 males maintained for 3-4 days at 20 C in the absence of hermaphrodites mating plugs appear on 22-33% of the animals (three tests, 40-47 animals per test), invariably at the same position on the ventral side of the head. In the presence of hermaphrodites they do not do this. That plugs on hermaphrodites maintained with AB2 males were seen after only one day suggests that mate-less AB2 males grow more motivated and/or less discriminating with the passage of time. The ability of males to make plugs in the absence of hermaphrodites shows that males secrete the plug material themselves (or at least most of it) rather than stimulating the hermaphrodite to do so.

Mutahir Z et al. (2013) FEBS J "Thymidine kinase 1 regulatory fine-tuning through tetramer formation."

Andersson KM, Piskur J, Munch-Petersen B, Clausen AR, Mutahir Z, Wisen SM

[FEBS J, 2013]

Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) provides a crucial precursor, deoxythymidine monophosphate, for nucleic acid synthesis, and the activity of TK1 increases by up to 200-fold during the S-phase of cell division in humans. An important part of the regulatory checkpoints is the ATP and enzyme concentration-dependent transition of TK1 from a dimer with low catalytic efficiency to a tetramer with high catalytic efficiency. This regulatory fine-tuning serves as an additional control to provide a balanced pool of nucleic acid precursors in the cell. We subcloned and over-expressed 10 different TK1s, originating from widely different organisms, and characterized their kinetic and oligomerization properties. Whilst bacteria, plants and Dictyostelium only exhibited dimeric TK1, we found that all animals had a tetrameric TK1. However, a clear ATP-dependent switch between dimer and tetramer was found only in higher vertebrates and was especially pronounced in mammalian and bird TK1s. We suggest that the dimer form is the original form and that the tetramer originated in the animal lineage after the split of Dictyostelium and the lineages leading to invertebrates and vertebrates. The efficient switching mechanism was probably first established in warm-blooded animals when they separated from the rest of the vertebrates.

Sakura T et al. (2010) Parasitol Res "Assessment of skin penetration of third-stage larvae of Strongyloides ratti."

Sakura T, Uga S

[Parasitol Res, 2010]

Strongyloides stercoralis infection is caused by skin penetration of third-stage larvae (L3s). We studied skin penetration of L3s of Strongyloides ratti using an in vitro assay that has been used previously to study Angiostrongylus cantonensis, an agarose membrane with a temperature gradient, and scanning electron microscopy. Our results revealed that skin penetration of L3s depended on host skin temperature. When the target temperature of the outer liquid was 37C, more than 80% of L3s penetrated the skin, but penetration was only 60% when the target temperature was 20C. Thirdstage larvae moved rapidly on the agarose membrane toward optimum temperature area for this parasite, which indicates that L3 has a sensor that is sensitive to temperature changes. Penetration rate for hosts such as cat (36%), dog (32%), and bird (13%) were significantly lower than that for rat (82%). Although we could not establish the reason, L3s seemed to have an ability to differentiate these hosts at the time of penetration. By using scanning electron microscopy, penetration of L3s could be observed within 10 min. We demonstrated thermotaxis of L3 of S. ratti, and this peculiar characteristic seemed to have a close relationship with the process of searching for the host.

James P McCarter et al. (2001) International C. elegans Meeting "Genes from Other"

James P McCarter, Todd N Wylie, Robert H Waterston, Brandi Chiapelli, Deana Pape, Michael Dante, Sandra W Clifton, John C Martin

[International C. elegans Meeting, 2001]

To build upon knowledge gained from the genome of C. elegans , we have begun generating Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) from parasitic (and free-living) nematodes. This project will generate >225,000 5' ESTs from 14 species by 2003. Additionally, the Sanger Centre and Edinburgh Univ. will complete 80,000 ESTs from 7 species. Through these combined efforts, we anticipate the identification of >80,000 new nematode genes. At the GSC, approximately 35,000 ESTs have been generated to date including sequences from Ancylostoma caninum, Heterodera glycines, Meloidogyne incognita and javanica, Parastrongyloides trichosuri, Pristionchus pacificus, Strongyloides stercoralis and ratti, Trichinella spiralis, and Zeldia punctata . We will report on our progress in sequence analysis, including the creation of the NemaGene gene index for each species by EST clustering and consensus sequence generation, identification of common and rare transcripts, and identification of genes with orthologues in C. elegans and other nematodes. All sequences are publicly available at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/dbEST. NemaGene sequences and project details are available at WWW.NEMATODE.NET. We would like to thank collaborators who have provided materials and ideas for this project including Prema Arasu, David Bird, Rick Davis, Warwick Grant, John Hawdon, Doug Jasmer, Andrew Kloek, Thomas Nutman, Charlie Opperman, Alan Scott, Ralf Sommer, and Mark Viney. This work is funded by NIH-AI-46593, NSF-0077503, and a Merck / Helen Hay Whitney Foundation fellowship.

Bird AF (1980) "The nematode cuticle and its surface."

Bird AF

[1980]

A number of review articles on the nematode cuticle have been published in the last decade. The most recent of these are those of Bird and Lee and Atkinson. These authors, while emphasizing the complexity and variability of nematode cuticles, support the use of a simplified nomenclature of cuticle structure which divides the cuticle into three regions or zones-namely, cortical, median, and basal. It is obvious that many exceptions to this fundamental pattern occur, and I shall mention some of these below. However, I think that they are adaptations to survival in changing environments, particularly where parasitism is involved. In particular, I propose to consider the structure and functions of the surface or epicuticle of the cortical zone, for it is here that reactions similar to those occurring at cell surfaces and in cell membranes are thought to occur in a wide range of "helminth" organisms. At the moment, particularly for the Nematoda, these ideas require more experimental evidence to establish them as facts. However, the use of sensitive techniques currently employed by membrane physicists and chemists to isolate, label, analyze, measure, and observe interactions taking place in cell membranes have in many instances yet to be used on the nematode cuticle. There is no doubt that the free-living bacterial-feeding nematodes such as those belonging to the genus Caenorhabditis, and in particular C. elegans, are the experimental models of choice for this purpose.

Babity JM et al. (1988) Worm Breeder's Gazette "molecular cloning of dpy-5."

Rose AM, Babity JM

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1988]

The molecular cloning of dpy-5(I) was initiated by genomic blot analysis of dpy-5(s1300), a spontaneous mutation isolated in an N2/BO hybrid strain by R. Rosenbluth. A novel 2.7 kb Tc1-hybridizing band was present in s1300 and cosegregated with the Dpy-5 phenotype. This Tc1 was shown to map between unc-38 and unc-87 through the construction of an unc-38 00) utant. Two additional dpy-5 strains and two non-Dpy revertants were analyzed: dpy-5(mn303) and a revertant kindly provided by Bob Herman and dpy-5(h14) and a revertant from our lab. DNA from both the Tc1-induced dpy-5(mn303) and the BO dpy-5(h14) contain the novel 2.7 kb Tc1-hybridizing band. Revertants of both mutations do not have this Tc1. Using unc-38 00) onstructed a lambda gt10 library of EcoRI fragments ranging in size from approximately 2500 bp to 2800 bp. This library contained three Tc1's, one of which is the novel 2.7 kb Tc1. DNA flanking the Tc1 was used as a probe in genomic blots of different Dpy-5 strains. In DNA from dpy-5(h14) and dpy-5(mn303), a 2.7 kb band is present, whereas revertants of these alleles contain 1.1 kb hybridizing bands. An additional Tc1-induced dpy-5, 76), kindly provided by Don Riddle), has the 1.1 kb hybridizing band. This may mean that the dpy-5 gene extends into an adjacent EcoRI fragment. Approximately 600 bp have been sequenced from DNA flanking the novel Tc1. As yet no collagen-like homology has been detected as was reported for the dpy-13 sequence (N. von Mende, D. Mck. Bird, P. S. Albert and D. L. Riddle, The Worm Breeder's Gazette, Vol. 10, No. 1). A genomic phage has been isolated by homology to putative dpy-5 sequences. This phage has been sent to John Sulston and Alan Coulson in Cambridge, England.

Ouazana R (1980) Worm Breeder's Gazette "isolation and biochemical analysis of the cuticle collagen of C elegans, Bergerac strain."

Ouazana R

[Worm Breeder's Gazette, 1980]

The major components of the cuticle were found, in Ascaris des to be proteins (Bird 1956), the most important being collagen (Watson and Silvester 1959; Josse and Harrington 1964). In order to obtain this major protein, intact cuticles from C. elegans were isolated by sonication and incubation with 1% SDS, according to the method described by M. Kusch at the Woods-hole workshop. The purity of the preparation and the preservation of the in situ characteristics of the isolated cuticles were controlled by electron microscopy. Proteins represent about 65% of the dry weight of the isolated cuticles and collagen 70% of the proteins. Taking into account the fact that the cuticle is soluble in reducing solutions, as is the case for Ascaris (Evans et al. 1976), we prepared the C. elegans cuticle collagen by reduction with -mercaptoethanol in a buffer containing 8M Urea followed by carboxymethylation with sodium Iodoacetate. This collagen analyzed by SDS-Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gave seven bands (fig.). Their molecular weights are : 185000, 155000, 92000, 65000 (the predominant band) 51000, 32000, 20000 (the gamma, 11 and alpha1 components of Calf skin Type I Collagen were taken for calibration). All these components are sensitive to bacterial collagenase. The C. elegans cuticle collagen was submitted to molecular sieve chromatography and now to ion exchange chromatography on phosphocellulose to obtain purified components. [See Figure 1] The amino acid composition of the cuticular collagen of C. elegans and the fractions obtained by molecular sieve chromatography showed high hydroxyproline content (10%) and low proline content (13%) compared to Ascaris cuticle collagen (2% and 36% respectively, Evans et al. 1976). The proline and hydroxyproline contents are close to those found in vertebrate collagen. But like all known invertebrate cuticle collagen, C. elegans lacks hydroxylysine. The aim of the present work is to determine whether the separated components are genetically distinct chains and could represent different collagen types, or if these components all belong to the same type of collagen.