Center for Caenorhabditis Elegans Anatomy

描述（由申请人提供）：线虫，秀丽隐杆线虫，已被确定为细胞发育的“高连通性”动物。这种非常小，简单的动物由于其优良的遗传学和可接近的细胞生物学而被广泛用于实验研究。蠕虫的完整基因组已经发表，并且大部分成年解剖结构已经通过一系列薄片的电子显微照片重建。然而，EM技术并没有被秀丽隐杆线虫界广泛使用，而且大多数以前的EM数据不容易访问。秀丽隐杆线虫解剖中心致力于将EM方法扩展到秀丽隐杆线虫上，特别是1)研究正常发育和突变动物的细胞变化，2)进行EM免疫细胞化学和组织化学研究，以在超微结构水平上定位抗原或分子。这些研究是与NIH和nsf资助的实验室密切合作进行的，以实现他们现有的实验目标。此外，该中心还以带注释的TEM和光学显微照片的形式发布了有关线虫解剖结构的详细信息。信息可以在因特网上通过我们的WormAtlas和Wormlmage网站，通过ftp， cd和dvd获得，现在以书的形式收录在秀丽隐杆线虫图集中。如有必要，该中心正在测试新的秀丽隐杆线虫的EM方法，并对关键发育阶段的野生型解剖结构进行新的EM调查，以补充图集，并填补我们一般知识的空白。该中心还提供TEM方法的培训，以便更多秀丽隐杆线虫实验室可以进行自己的EM研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, has been identified as a "high connectivity" animal for cellular development. This very small, simple animal has been widely adopted for experimental study due to its excellent genetics and accessible cell biology. The complete genome of the worm has been published, and most of the adult anatomy has been reconstructed from electron micrographs of serial thin sections. However, EM techniques are not widely utilized by the C. elegans community, and most previous EM data are not easily accessed. The Center for C. elegans Anatomy concentrates on extending the EM methods on C. elegans, particularly to 1) study cellular changes during normal development and in mutant animals, and 2) conduct EM-immunocytochemical and histochemical studies to localize antigens or molecules at the ultrastructural level. Such studies are being conducted in close collaboration with NIH- and NSF-funded laboratories, in fulfillment of their existing experimental aims. In addition, the Center is 3) publishing detailed information regarding the anatomy of the nematode in the form of annotated TEM and light micrographs. Information is available on the Internet on our WormAtlas and Wormlmage web sites, by ftp, on CDs and DVDs, and now in book form in the C. elegans Atlas. Where necessary, the Center is 4) testing new EM methods for C. elegans, and conducting new EM surveys of the wild type anatomy at key developmental stages to supplement the Atlas, and to fill gaps in our general knowledge. The Center also provides 5) training in TEM methods so that more C. elegans labs can conduct their own EM studies. This R24 application was first funded and the Center opened in Feb. 1998; we request five years of funding to continue building our capabilities to serve the scientific community. Many disease-related gene sequences are known in the C. elegans genome; the TEM pathology of genetic mutations in nematode is often helpful in discovering the function of equivalent gene products in man. Studies in this laboratory have uncovered basic mechanisms related to development of the brain, and explored genes involved in several forms of cell death, including apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy.