The worm in the world and the world in the worm.
Caenorhabditis elegans is a preeminent model organism, but the natural ecology of this nematode has been elusive. A four-year survey of French orchards published in BMC Biology reveals thriving populations of C. elegans (and Caenorhabditis briggsae) in rotting fruit and plant stems. Rather than being simply a 'soil nematode', C. elegans appears to be a 'plant-rot nematode'. These studies signal a growing interest in the integrated genomics and ecology of these tractable animals.
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK. mark.blaxter@ed.ac.uk
Mark
M
Blaxter
Dee R
DR
Denver
D000818:Animals; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000254:growth & development*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000254:growth & development*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male