Despite this anatomical simplicity, these animals possess many signalling molecules also found in the more complex brains of humans. Therefore, nematodes provide a simple 'model' system to facilitate understanding of brain function at the cellular level. This is all the more important now, as the challenge of interpreting the human genome is encountered. The majority of human genes are expressed in the nervous system, but for many the function is unknown. Model genetic animals, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, provide the opportunity to investigate gene function in a well-defined and tractable animal.
Parasitic nematodes are a major cause of morbidity and death in humans.
In livestock, infections have a significant impact on production. The first few seconds show bright field images, followed by fluorescence images. We have been developing electrophysiological methods to provide a discrete phenotypic analysis for comparison of mutants to wild-type and delineation of gene function e.g intracellular recordings from the pharyngeal muscle, as shown below. The muscle acts to pump food from the mouth into the intestine. The pharynx is about 15 microns in diameter.