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Updated: May 12, 2026
Comprehensive Assessment of Germline Chemical Toxicity Using the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: February 22, 2015
A C. elegans screening platform for the rapid assessment of chemical disruption of germline function
Patrick Allard1, Nicole C Kleinstreuer, Thomas B Knudsen
1Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115 , USA.
Background:
Despite the developmental impact of chromosome segregation errors, we lack the tools to assess environmental effects on the integrity of the germline in animals.
Objectives:
We developed an assay in Caenorhabditis elegans that fluorescently marks aneuploid embryos after chemical exposure.
Methods:
We qualified the predictive value of the assay against chemotherapeutic agents as well as environmental compounds from the ToxCast Phase I library by comparing results from the C. elegans assay with the comprehensive mammalian in vivo end point data from the ToxRef database.
Results:
The assay was highly predictive of mammalian reproductive toxicities, with a 69% maximum balanced accuracy. We confirmed the effect of select compounds on germline integrity by monitoring germline apoptosis and meiotic progression.
Conclusions:
This C. elegans assay provides a comprehensive strategy for assessing environmental effects on germline function.
