Ellsworth C. Dougherty: A Pioneer in the Selection of Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Organism.
Ellsworth Dougherty (1921-1965) was a man of impressive intellectual dimensions and interests; in a relatively short career he contributed enormously as researcher and scholar to the biological knowledge base for selection of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism in neurobiology, genetics, and molecular biology. He helped guide the choice of strains that were eventually used, and, in particular, he developed the methodology and understanding for the nutrition and axenic culture of nematodes and other organisms. Dougherty insisted upon a concise terminology for culture techniques and coined descriptive neologisms that were justified by their linguistic roots. Among other contributions, he refined the classification system for the Protista.
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, California 95616 hferris@ucdavis.edu.
Howard
H
Ferris
Center for Nutrition and Metabolism, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California 94609 hferris@ucdavis.edu.
W F
WF
Hieb
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D005823:Genetics / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D023421:Models, Animal; D014481:United States
axenic culture; linguistics; model organism; phylogeny; terminology