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Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering microRNAs and their role in regulating gene expression. The discovery was made using the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans.  

About Caenorhabditis elegans

C. elegans became an important tool for biological research due to its simplicity and versatility.

Its small size, short life cycle and small genome made it an ideal candidate for genetic research.

Researchers such as Sydney Brenner recognised its potential to address fundamental questions about development and neurobiology.

Its 302 neurons, human-like organ systems, and transparent body allowed scientists to study complex biological processes in a manageable and efficient manner.

What key insights did C. elegans research yield?

C. elegans research provided important insights into a variety of fundamental biological processes, including gene regulation, programmed cell death, ageing, and nervous system function.

Research in C. elegans indicated information about RNA interference (RNAi), gene silencing, and the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in controlling gene expression. These findings have consequences for human biology, cancer research, aging studies, and neurobiology.

What makes C. elegans a valuable model for studying human biology, despite its differences from humans?

C. elegans is valuable because its biological processes share similarities with those in humans. Many genetic pathways and mechanisms in the worm are conserved across species, including humans.

C. elegans research has helped researchers to understand the genetic regulation of cell death, ageing, and neurological processes that are important for human health. By studying these fundamental processes in a simpler organism, researchers can gain insights that apply to more complex organisms, such as humans.

Key Discoveries and Insights

Genetics of Aging

In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers began exploring the genetic regulation of aging in C. elegans. They identified genes that could extend the worm's lifespan, leading to insights into ageing mechanisms that are conserved across species, including humans.

They uncovered the role of insulin signalling in ageing—a pathway that also affects lifespan in mammals, including humans.

RNA Interference (RNAi)

The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) found that double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) could silence genes in C. elegans. 

This discovery provided a tool to manipulate gene expression more easily, which has since become a standard technique in molecular biology. In 2006, Fire and Mello were awarded the Nobel Prize for this work.

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)

The ability to observe live biological processes was greatly enhanced by the discovery of green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria.

In the 1990s, Martin Chalfie introduced GFP into C. elegans, making it possible to visualize specific genes in living organisms for the first time. This method, which was subsequently used in numerous species, earned Chalfie and others the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and Gene Regulation

Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun’s 2024 Nobel-winning discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) showed that small RNA molecules could regulate gene expression without producing proteins. This challenged the traditional view of RNA's role in genetic expression.

They indicated that miRNAs could control developmental timing by targeting and reducing the expression of specific genes, a conclusion that has broad implications for developmental biology and disease regulation.

Way Forward

While the focus of much biological research is often on human organisms, the simplicity of C. elegans allows researchers to unravel fundamental biological processes in ways that would be impossible in more complex organisms. By studying the worm, scientists have been able to make discoveries that are directly applicable to human health and disease. 

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Source: 

The Hindu