Caenorhabditis elegans: The Cell Lineage and Beyond (Nobel Lecture)

Developing a line of research: Various techniques have allowed cell divisions in Caenorhabditis elegans to be studied, from the fertilised egg to the adult nematode seen hatching in the figure. The description of the cell lineage of the worm led to the discoveries that this cell lineage is largely invariant and that specific cells in the lineage always die by programmed cell death. This process could be followed visually in the living organism. Through mutagenesis, many genetic loci were found to be involved in C. elegans development. The consequent need for improvement in techniques of gene analysis led to mapping and sequencing of the genome.