A little over 50 years ago, Sydney Brenner had the foresight to develop the nematode (round worm) Caenorhabditis elegans as a genetic model for understanding questions of developmental biology and neurobiology. Over time, research on C. elegans has expanded to explore a wealth of diverse areas in modern biology including studies of the basic functions and interactions of eukaryotic cells, host–parasite interactions, and evolution. C. elegans has also become an important organism in which to study processes that go awry in human diseases. This primer introduces the organism and the many features that make it an outstanding experimental system, including its small size, rapid life cycle, transparency, and well-annotated genome. We survey the basic anatomical features, common technical approaches, and important discoveries in C. elegans research. Key to studying C. elegans has been the ability to address biological problems genetically, using both forward and reverse genetics, both at the level of the entire organism and at the level of the single, identified cell. These possibilities make C. elegans useful not only in research laboratories, but also in the classroom where it can be used to excite students who actually can see what is happening inside live cells and tissues.

A little over 50 years ago, Sydney Brenner had the foresight to develop the nematode (round worm) Caenorhabditis elegans as a genetic model for understanding questions of developmental biology and neurobiology. Over time, research on C. elegans has expanded to explore a wealth of diverse areas in modern biology including studies of the basic functions and interactions of eukaryotic cells, host-parasite interactions, and evolution. C. elegans has also become an important organism in which to study processes that go awry in human diseases. This primer introduces the organism and the many features that make it an outstanding experimental system, including its small size, rapid life cycle, transparency, and well-annotated genome. We survey the basic anatomical features, common technical approaches, and important discoveries in C. elegans research. Key to studying C. elegans has been the ability to address biological problems genetically, using both forward and reverse genetics, both at the level of the entire organism and at the level of the single, identified cell. These possibilities make C. elegans useful not only in research laboratories, but also in the classroom where it can be used to excite students who actually can see what is happening inside live cells and tissues.KEYWORDS C. elegans; nematodes; Primer; single-cell analysis; transparent genetic system

We studied the molecular nature of the interaction between the integral membrane protein Sec63p and the lumenal Hsp70 BiP to elucidate their role in the process of precursor transit into the ER of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A lumenal stretch of Sec63p with homology to the Escherichia coli protein DnaJ is the likely region of interface between Sec63p and BiP. This domain, purified as a fusion protein (63Jp) with glutathione S–transferase (GST), mediated a stable ATP-dependent binding interaction between 63Jp and BiP and stimulated the ATPase activity of BiP. The interaction was highly selective because only BiP was retained on immobilized 63Jp when detergent-solubilized microsomes were mixed with ATP and the fusion protein. GST alone was inactive in these assays. Additionally, a GST fusion containing a point mutation in the lumenal domain of Sec63p did not interact with BiP. Finally, we found that the soluble Sec63p lumenal domain inhibited efficient precursor import into proteoliposomes reconstituted so as to incorporate both BiP and the fusion protein. We conclude that the lumenal domain of Sec63p is sufficient to mediate enzymatic interaction with BiP and that this interaction positioned at the translocation apparatus or translocon at the lumenal face of the ER is vital for protein translocation into the ER.