All Instructional Materials
BABEC C. elegans Labs
This is a direct link to BABEC's C. elegans Labs page. There are modules of hands-on activities, each with a student and teacher guide version. Current modules include "Meet the worms!", "Synchronization", "chemotaxis assay", and "The Effect of Alcohol on Worms ".
C. elegans Early Embryo Development
This PowerPoint lecture describes C. elegans
early embryo development. It also includes detailed description about C. elegans gastrulation.
C. elegans Structures: high (20X60) magnification
Adult male, protruding
Same as previous, with different focal plane highlighted
At left: L3 male with slightly less developed tail. The animal on the right is L4 male with more developed tail.
Male animal: Fan, hook, half of the body
Cell Lineage
The embryonic cell lineage of C. elegans from zygote to hatched larva provides an excellent tool for learning fundamental principals in developmental biology.
Dice & Slice
A 6-day hands-on inquiry unit. Activities include C. elegans phenotype observation, worm transfer, RNA interference, PCR and DNA electrophoresis. In addition, students have the opportunity to apply online tool BLAST to find out the gene sequence of the dsRNA underlying the interference of RNA (RNAi).
Dpy-5 lab
Identification of dumpy worms; design of primers to amplify dpy-5 gene. Preparation of single worms for PCR, PCR reactions, gel electrophoresis.
Inhibition of unc-22 function using dsRNA
DsRNAi by feeding lab for sophomore level genetics course using unc-22 gene. Handout provided to students (also includes instructions for online prelab). Includes prep sheet for dsRNAi by feeding lab.
Laboratory in Genetics
This is a project-based laboratory activity. Students will be engaged in activities of "forward genetics" and "functional genomics" (utilizing RNAi). For detailed lab procedure, please contact Dr. jhubbard [at] saturn [dot] med [dot] nyu [dot] edu (E. Jane Hubbard) at New York University.
Malthus Under a Microscope
Mueller, M. (2007). Malthus Under a Microscope: Using the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to test Darwin's premises about populations. The American Biology Teacher, 69(4), 219-225.
Students cultivated C. elegans, measured C. elegans population over time to gain deeper understanding of Darwin's premises about populations, such as natural selection.
Note: you must purchase access to view the article online.
Mutant Phenotype Analysis
What is a wild type or a mutant? How do wild type and mutant develop similarly or differently? This module includes movies of wild type and 5 mutant C. elegans' early embryonic development. These movies are in DIC (Differential Interference Contrast) format with magnification about 100X.