A map of the worm: First detailed anatomical atlas of C. elegans for use in the lab

February 16, 2008

To meet the demands of biologists who work with the model worm C. elegans in the laboratory, a new anatomical atlas has just been published. It is the most detailed and comprehensive atlas of C. elegans in print to date and will be an essential laboratory reference tool for all working worm biologists.

Derived from the acclaimed online WormAtlas, C. elegans Atlas is a large-format, full-color atlas of the model organism C. elegans, known affectionately as “the worm” by workers in the field. The WormAtlas Web site (www.wormatlas.org) has been a valuable resource for the C. elegans community, and this has driven demand for a print version that can be used at the bench and at the microscope.

The beautifully rendered images in the atlas illustrate in detail all of the internal and external structures of adult, hermaphroditic C. elegans. Each chapter focuses on a major organ system and includes accurate, color-coded drawings, detailed transmission and scanning electron micrographs, and fluorescent images, all of which are complemented with informative text and captions. It is a superb companion the monograph C. elegans II (http://www.cshlpress.com/link/celegans.htm).

Since the 1960s, when eminent biologist Sydney Brenner established C. elegans as the premier model organism for neurobiology and development, substantial knowledge about the anatomical architecture of the worm has accumulated. Today, C. elegans is used by thousands of investigators in diverse fields, and it continues to provide a wealth of information about fundamental principles of biology that apply to all animals. C. elegans Atlas will be useful not only to neurobiologists and developmental biologists, but also those who work in the fields of reproductive biology, gene expression, and molecular biology.

Source: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory