DMMC Course MODEL SYSTEMS IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH: SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS

1000-1115 Thursday 30 March 2006. UCD Conway Institute Seminar Room 2

Caenorhabditis elegans: apoptosis
Technical Spotlight: RNAi
Prof Michael Hengartner, Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Apoptosis (programmed cell death) is a highly conserved cellular suicide program used by animals to remove cells that are in excess, in the way, or potentially dangerous. Genetic studies in the nematode C. elegans provided the first evidence that programmed cell death is under genetic control, and led to the identification of many of the key regulators of apoptosis. Genetic studies, and more recently genome-wide RNAi screens, have also allowed the identification of genes that function in the cell type-specific regulation of apoptosis, as well as in the recognition and removal of apoptotic cells.

Hengartner Lab web page: http://www.molbio.unizh.ch/hengartner/index.shtml

Resources

Web Link: Wormbase http://www.wormbase.org/ (an international consortium of biologists and computer scientists dedicated to providing the research community with accurate, current, accessible information concerning the genetics, genomics and biology of C. elegans and some related nematodes).