How worms protect their chromosomes: Thereby hangs a surprising tail

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Artistic rendering of C. elegans telomeres. Unlike mammals the tiny roundworm protects the tips of its chromosomes with two different motifs. Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Jan Karlseder Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Artistic rendering of C. elegans telomeres. Unlike mammals, the tiny roundworm protects the tips of its chromosomes with two different motifs. Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Jan Karlseder, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

A team of scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has discovered that the roundworm C. elegans constructs the protective tips of its chromosomes — known as telomeres — with a little more panache than do mammals, a finding that could deepen our understanding of the interrelationship of aging and cancer.


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