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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 1, 2025

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions

Published on: October 18, 2017

Caenorhabditis Elegans as a Model for Environmental Epigenetics.

Adam Filipowicz^1,2, Patrick Allard^3,4

¹Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California, Boyer Hall, Room 332, 611 Charles E Young Dr E., UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.

Current Environmental Health Reports

|January 19, 2025

Summary

The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans is a powerful model for understanding how environmental factors influence the epigenome across generations. Studies reveal specific molecular pathways linking environmental stressors to epigenetic changes and organismal responses.

Keywords:

Developmental origins of health and disease Environmental toxicology Epigenetics Histone post-translational modifications Non-coding RNAs Transgenerational inheritance

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Author Spotlight: RNAi Inheritance and ChIP in C. elegans

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Last Updated: Jun 1, 2025

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Published on: October 18, 2017

Compost Microcosms as Microbially Diverse, Natural-like Environments for Microbiome Research in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Author Spotlight: RNAi Inheritance and ChIP in C. elegans

Author Spotlight: RNAi Inheritance and ChIP in C. elegans

Published on: May 5, 2023

Area of Science:

Environmental Epigenetics
Genomics and Molecular Biology
Model Organism Research

Background:

The epigenome is sensitive to environmental influences, but specific molecular mechanisms linking triggers to responses are often unclear.
Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for human health, as environmental factors can impact gene expression across generations.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism for discovering conserved epigenetic mechanisms.
To elucidate the molecular pathways connecting environmental stressors, epigenetic modifications, and organismal outcomes.

Main Methods:

Utilizing C. elegans for transgenerational epigenetic studies due to its rapid generation time and self-fertilization capability.
Applying advanced sequencing technologies, including single-nucleus and single-cell techniques, for high-resolution epigenome analysis.
Investigating the effects of various environmental stressors (e.g., methylmercury, starvation, mitochondrial inhibitors) on epigenetic marks.

Main Results:

Environmental stressors induce profound epigenetic changes in C. elegans, with effects persisting across multiple generations.
Specific pathways have been elucidated, such as RNA interference mediating transgenerational learned avoidance in response to bacterial infection.
Mitochondrial inhibitors impact DNA methylation (6mA) and histone methylation, potentially regulating mitochondrial stress response genes.

Conclusions:

C. elegans serves as a critical bridge between in vitro biochemical studies and human epidemiological findings in environmental epigenetics.
Advanced sequencing in C. elegans provides unprecedented resolution for studying the whole epigenome across development and generations.
This model organism is key to uncovering conserved molecular mechanisms of environmental influence on the epigenome.