부산대학교 도서관

As an experimental system, Caenorhabditis elegansoffers a unique opportunity to interrogate in vivothe genetic and molecular functions of human disease-related genes. For example, C. eleganshas provided crucial insights into fundamental biologic processes, such as cell death and cell fate determinations, as well as pathologic processes such as neurodegeneration and microbial susceptibility. The C. elegansmodel has several distinct advantages, including a completely sequenced genome that shares extensive homology with that of mammals, ease of cultivation and storage, a relatively short lifespan and techniques for generating null and transgenic animals. However, the ability to conduct unbiased forward and reverse genetic screens in C. elegansremains one of the most powerful experimental paradigms for discovering the biochemical pathways underlying human disease phenotypes. The identification of these pathways leads to a better understanding of the molecular interactions that perturb cellular physiology, and forms the foundation for designing mechanism-based therapies. To this end, the ability to process large numbers of isogenic animals through automated work stations suggests that C. elegans, manifesting different aspects of human disease phenotypes, will become the platform of choice for in vivodrug discovery and target validation using high-throughput/content screening technologies.