Is C. elegans a suitable model for nutritional science?

The suitability of C. elegans as a model for the question of nutritional science is a controversial topic. The discussion makes clear that C. elegans is its own best model for revealing, via genetic approaches, biological principles of nutritional behavior, and the biochemical function of vitamins. In this case, the model has a discovery function. Worm research serves also in the identification of nutrition-dependent pathways that could be used for novel approaches in human nutritional studies. This heuristic function of the model guides the applied nutrition research in an innovative direction. Since the nutrition and metabolism for the worm and man differ from each other somewhat strongly, results of nutritional studies in C. elegans are not directly applicable to human nutrition. In general, the C. elegans model is primarily appropriate for explaining the causality of general species’ nutritional phenotypes. Experience tells us that the analysis of drastic nutritional phenotypes in C. elegans has the potential to enrich the canon of knowledge of nutritional science.

• Publication year

  2019

• Venue

  Genes & Nutrition

• Publication date

  2019-01-09

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1186/s12263-018-0625-3PMID 30651890PMCID 6327375
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Precision

  2019cited by this paper
• Dietary restriction and lifespan: Lessons from invertebrate models.

  2017cited by this paper
• The Geometric Framework for Nutrition as a tool in precision medicine

  2017cited by this paper
• Inhibition of chaperone-mediated autophagy prevents glucotoxicity in the Caenorhabditis elegans mev-1 mutant by activation of the proteasome.

  2017cited by this paper
• Precision genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9 and linear repair templates in C. elegans

  2017cited by this paper
• Genetics of Lipid-Storage Management in Caenorhabditis elegans Embryos

  2016cited by this paper
• Metabolic network rewiring of propionate flux compensates vitamin B12 deficiency in C. elegans

  2016cited by this paper
• A Genome-Scale Database and Reconstruction of Caenorhabditis elegans Metabolism.

  2016cited by this paper
• Nutritional biology: a neglected basic discipline of nutritional science

  2015cited by this paper
• Glia-derived neurons are required for sex-specific learning in C. elegans

  2015cited by this paper
• Bromine is an essential trace element for assembly of collagen IV scaffolds in tissue development and architecture.

  2014cited by this paper
• Gait-specific adaptation of locomotor activity in response to dietary restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans

  2014cited by this paper
• The polyphenol quercetin protects the mev-1 mutant of Caenorhabditis elegans from glucose-induced reduction of survival under heat-stress depending on SIR-2.1, DAF-12, and proteasomal activity.

  2014cited by this paper
• Recognition of familiar food activates feeding via an endocrine serotonin signal in Caenorhabditis elegans

  2013cited by this paper
• Lifespan and reproduction in Drosophila: New insights from nutritional geometry

  2008cited by this paper
• Deletion of the Intestinal Peptide Transporter Affects Insulin and TOR Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans*

  2004cited by this paper
• Genome-wide RNAi screening in Caenorhabditis elegans.

  2003cited by this paper
• Chemically defined medium and Caenorhabditis elegans

  2003cited by this paper
• Genome-wide RNAi analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans fat regulatory genes

  2003cited by this paper
• C. elegans locomotory rate is modulated by the environment through a dopaminergic pathway and by experience through a serotonergic pathway.

  2000cited by this paper

• Versatility of Caenorhabditis elegans as a Model Organism for Evaluating Foodborne Neurotoxins and Food Bioactive Compounds in Nutritional Neuroscience

  2025cites this paper
• Undernutrition-induced stunting-like phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster

  2024cites this paper
• Assessment of the effects of cannabidiol and a CBD-rich hemp extract in Caenorhabditis elegans

  2024cites this paper
• Effect of sunflower oil nanoemulsions on the growth and lifespan extension of the Caenorhabditis elegans

  2024cites this paper
• Structured Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Enhances Motility and Promotes the Antioxidant Capacity of Aged C. elegans

  2023cites this paper
• The evolving role of the Caenorhabditis elegans model as a tool to advance studies in nutrition and health.

  2022cites this paper
• NUTRIGENOMICS STUDIES TO EXPLORE ANTIAGING: Drosophila APPROACH

  2022cites this paper
• Caenorhabditis elegans as an emerging model in food and nutrition research: importance of standardizing base diet

  2022cites this paper
• The effect of Mediterranean diet on nutritional status, muscle mass and strength, and inflammatory factors in patients with colorectal cancer-induced cachexia: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial

  2022cites this paper
• Drosophila as a diet discovery tool for treating amino acid disorders.

  2022cites this paper
• Structural aspects of the aging invertebrate brain

  2021cites this paper
• Application of and Behavioral Assays to Demonstrating Neuronal and Neurotransmitter Systems in C. elegans

  2021cites this paper
• Application of Fluorescence Microscopy and Behavioral Assays to Demonstrating Neuronal Connectomes and Neurotransmitter Systems in C. elegans.

  2021cites this paper
• The Potentials of Calorie Restriction on Lifespan and Health – A Literature Review

  2020cites this paper
• Roles of Regulatory RNAs in Nutritional Control.

  2020cites this paper
• Bacteria increase host micronutrient availability: mechanisms revealed by studies in C. elegans

  2020cites this paper
• Insect Sterol Nutrition: Physiological Mechanisms, Ecology, and Applications.

  2020cites this paper