The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

@article{White1986TheSO,
  title={The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.},
  author={James G. White and Eileen Southgate and J. Nichol Thomson and Sydney Brenner},
  journal={Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences},
  year={1986},
  volume={314 1165},
  pages={
          1-340
        }
}
  • J. White, E. Southgate, S. Brenner
  • Published 12 November 1986
  • Biology
  • Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
The structure and connectivity of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been deduced from reconstructions of electron micrographs of serial sections. The hermaphrodite nervous system has a total complement of 302 neurons, which are arranged in an essentially invariant structure. Neurons with similar morphologies and connectivities have been grouped together into classes; there are 118 such classes. Neurons have simple morphologies with few, if any, branches. Processes… 
View on PubMed
homes.mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de
5,072 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
506
Background Citations
1,975
Methods Citations
349
Results Citations
67

5,072 Citations

The connectome of the Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx
TLDR
Using serial EM reconstruction, the connectome of the pharyngeal nervous system is re-evaluate, providing a novel and more detailed view of its structure and predicted function and speculation that the overall architecture may be reminiscent of the architecture of ancestral, primitive nervous systems.
The central nervous system, its cellular organisation and development, in the tadpole larva of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.
TLDR
Comparisons between the maps of neural tubes in embryos of successive ages, that is, between cells in one map and their progeny in older maps, enable us to follow the line of mitotic descent through successive maps, at least for the caudal neural tube.
Glial development and function in the nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans.
  • S. Shaham
  • Biology
    Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology
  • 2015
TLDR
It is revealed that glia are essential elements of a functioning C. elegans nervous system and play key roles in its development, and glial influence on neuronal function appears to be dynamic.
Neurons of the ascidian larval nervous system in Ciona intestinalis: II. Peripheral nervous system
TLDR
Two additional types of tail neuron, the caudal epidermal neurons (dorsal and ventral) as well as a novel bipolar interneuron, were identified and are the substrate for the ascidian larva's entire peripheral sensory input, important during larval swimming and settlement.
Neurons of the ascidian larval nervous system in Ciona intestinalis: I. Central nervous system
TLDR
Neuron counts in the sensory vesicle (SV) and visceral ganglion (VG) indicated that between 75% and 69% of previously reported numbers of neurons were transfected, and the caudal nerve cord contained the first reported neurons, the somata of planate neurons.
Tight-seal whole-cell patch clamping of Caenorhabditis elegans neurons.
Repeating patterns of motoneurons in nematodes: the origin of segmentation?
TLDR
This review will focus on developmental studies of C. elegans locomotory neural circuits and the similarities and differences among different taxa regarding: the relationship between cell lineage and cell fate determination in generating reiterative neural patterns; pioneer cells and the molecular basis for process guidance and finally genetic epigenetic events involved in sculpting highly specific synaptic patterns.
Ultrastructure of synapses in the first-evolved nervous systems
TLDR
The lack of postjunctional folds at neuromuscular synapses and the presence of fewer and somewhat larger synaptic vesicles in the more primitive animals suggests that neuropeptides evolved as neurotransmitters early in the animal kingdom.
Using Expression Profiles of Caenorhabditis elegans Neurons To Identify Genes That Mediate Synaptic Connectivity
TLDR
The results show that for many neurons the neuronal expression map of C. elegans can be used to accurately predict the subset of adjacent neurons that will be chosen as its postsynaptic partners, and can be achieved using the expression patterns of only a small number of specific genes that interact in a combinatorial fashion.
A map of terminal regulators of neuronal identity in Caenorhabditis elegans
  • O. Hobert
  • Biology
    Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Developmental biology
  • 2016
TLDR
The regulatory map illustrates the preponderance of homeodomain transcription factors in the control of terminal identities, suggesting that these factors have ancient, phylogenetically conserved roles in controlling terminal neuronal differentiation in the nervous system.
...
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 57 REFERENCES
The structure of the ventral nerve cord of Caenorhabditis elegans.
TLDR
The nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans is arranged as a series of fibre bundles which run along internal hypodermal ridges and three of the motor neurone classes receive their synaptic input from a set of interneurones coming from the nerve ring.
The pharynx of Caenorhabditis elegans.
  • D. Albertson, J. N. Thomson
  • Biology
    Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
  • 1976
TLDR
The anatomy of the pharynx of Caenorhabditis elegans has been reconstructed from electron micrographs of serial sections, and some interpretations of how these neurones function have been offered.
Structure and physiological activity of the motoneurons of the nematode Ascaris.
TLDR
The nervous system of the nematode worm Ascaris contains about 250 nerve cells; of these, the motoneurons consist of five segmental sets, each containing 11 cells, which enable the anatomy and physiology of the system with a degree of completeness that would be difficult in other systems.
Monoclonal antibodies demonstrate the organization of axons in the leech
  • S. Hockfield, R. McKay
  • Biology
    The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
  • 1983
TLDR
The results show that axonal position, like neuron cell body position, is a consistent feature of the organization of the leech central nervous system and shows that molecular heterogeneity is a property of axons as well as of neuron cell bodies.
Developmental genetics of the mechanosensory neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans.
Post-embryonic cell lineages of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans.
Structural and functional diversity in the neuronal microtubules of Caenorhabditis elegans
TLDR
Tannic acid fixation reveals differences in the number of protofilaments between microtubules (MTs) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and it is likely that either type of MT will suffice for the proper outgrowth of the microtubule cell process, but only the 15-p MT can function in the specialized role of sensory transduction of themicrotubule cells.
The neural circuit for touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans
TLDR
This analysis revealed that there are two pathways for touch-mediated movement for anterior touch (through the AVD and AVB interneurons) and a single pathway for posterior touch (via the PVC interneures) and that stimulation of these receptors may modify a number of behaviors.
Fine structure of the Caenorhabditis elegans secretory-excretory system.
Developmental alterations in sensory neuroanatomy of the Caenorhabditis elegans dauer larva
The anterior sensory ultrastructure of the C. elegans dauer larva was examined in several specimens and compared with that of the second‐stage (L2) larva, which immediately precedes the dauer stage.…
...
...