The sequence provides a set of tools for future experimentation, where any sequence may be valuable and completeness is the key. Sequencing provides an index to draw in and organize all genetic information about the organism. The entire sequence is an archive for the future, containing all the genetic information required to make the organism. The authors state that as a resource, the sequence of C. elegans will be used indefinitely, not only by C. elegans biologists, but also by other researchers for comparison with and interpretation of other genomes, including the human genome. The high estimates are based on repeated sampling of single marine habitats and are supported by surveys of terrestrial faunas.
Nematodes are also numerically abundant, attaining millions of individuals per square meter.
The ribonucleic acid molecule transcribed from DNA that carries the coded information specifying the sequence of amino acids in a protein.