Environmental radiation exposure at Chornobyl has not systematically affected the genomes or chemical mutagen tolerance phenotypes of local worms.

The 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant transformed the surrounding region into the most radioactive landscape known on the planet. Whether or not this sudden environmental shift selected for species, or even individuals within a species, that are naturally more resistant to mutagen exposure remains an open question. In this study, we collected, cultured, and cryopreserved 298 wild nematode isolates from areas varying in radioactivity within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

Environmental radiation exposure at Chornobyl has not systematically affected the genomes or mutagen tolerance phenotypes of local worms.

The 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant transformed the surrounding region into the most radioactive landscape known on the planet. Questions remain regarding whether this sudden environmental shift selected for species, or even individuals within a species, that are naturally more resistant to radiation exposure. We collected, cultured, and cryopreserved 298 wild nematodes isolates from areas varying in radioactivity within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

Zyxin contributes to coupling between cell junctions and contractile actomyosin networks during apical constriction.

One of the most common cell shape changes driving morphogenesis in diverse animals is the constriction of the apical cell surface. Apical constriction depends on contraction of an actomyosin network in the apical cell cortex, but such actomyosin networks have been shown to undergo continual, conveyor belt-like contractions before the shrinking of an apical surface begins. This finding suggests that apical constriction is not necessarily triggered by the contraction of actomyosin networks, but rather can be triggered by unidentified, temporally-regulated mechanical links between actomyosin and junctions.

nematodes colonize ephemeral resource patches in neotropical forests.

Factors shaping the distribution and abundance of species include life-history traits, population structure, and stochastic colonization-extinction dynamics. Field studies of model species groups help reveal the roles of these factors. Species of nematodes are highly divergent at the sequence level but exhibit highly conserved morphology, and many of these species live in sympatry on microbe-rich patches of rotten material.

Rapid Isolation of Wild Nematodes by Baermann Funnel.

Beyond being robust experimental model organisms, Caenorhabditis elegans and its relatives are also real animals that live in nature. Studies of wild nematodes in their natural environments are valuable for understanding many aspects of biology, including the selective regimes in which distinctive genomic and phenotypic characters evolve, the genetic basis for complex trait variation, and the natural genetic diversity fundamental to all animal populations. This manuscript describes a simple and efficient method for extracting nematodes from their natural substrates, including rotting fruits, flowers, fungi, leaf litter, and soil.

Differential Expression Gene Explorer (DrEdGE): a tool for generating interactive online visualizations of gene expression datasets.

Summary: Differential Expression Gene Explorer (DrEdGE) is a web-based tool that guides genomicists through easily creating interactive online data visualizations, which colleagues can query according to their own conditions to discover genes, samples or patterns of interest. We demonstrate DrEdGE's features with three example websites generated from publicly available datasets-human neuronal tissue, mouse embryonic tissue and Caenorhabditis elegans whole embryos. DrEdGE increases the utility of large genomics datasets by removing technical obstacles to independent exploration.

A Transcriptional Lineage of the Early C. elegans Embryo.

During embryonic development, cells must establish fates, morphologies, and behaviors in coordination with one another to form a functional body. A prevalent hypothesis for how this coordination is achieved is that each cell's fate and behavior is determined by a defined mixture of RNAs. Only recently has it become possible to measure the full suite of transcripts in a single cell.

Evidence for extensive horizontal gene transfer from the draft genome of a tardigrade.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), or the transfer of genes between species, has been recognized recently as more pervasive than previously suspected. Here, we report evidence for an unprecedented degree of HGT into an animal genome, based on a draft genome of a tardigrade, Hypsibius dujardini. Tardigrades are microscopic eight-legged animals that are famous for their ability to survive extreme conditions.

Identifying Regulators of Morphogenesis Common to Vertebrate Neural Tube Closure and Caenorhabditis elegans Gastrulation.

Neural tube defects including spina bifida are common and severe congenital disorders. In mice, mutations in more than 200 genes can result in neural tube defects. We hypothesized that this large gene set might include genes whose homologs contribute to morphogenesis in diverse animals.

Differential gene expression in the siphonophore Nanomia bijuga (Cnidaria) assessed with multiple next-generation sequencing workflows.

We investigated differential gene expression between functionally specialized feeding polyps and swimming medusae in the siphonophore Nanomia bijuga (Cnidaria) with a hybrid long-read/short-read sequencing strategy. We assembled a set of partial gene reference sequences from long-read data (Roche 454), and generated short-read sequences from replicated tissue samples that were mapped to the references to quantify expression. We collected and compared expression data with three short-read expression workflows that differ in sample preparation, sequencing technology, and mapping tools.