Association for Biology Laboratory Education

Genetic Complementation Testing in C. elegans
 

Pliny A. Smith

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2017, Volume 38

Abstract

Complementation testing of alleles facilitates genetic identification of phenotypes. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans rich history of genetic discovery due to its relatively short life cycle, ease of culturing, and a variety of available phenotypes. Many important genetic pathways were first elucidated in C. elegans, and later found to play critical roles in more complex metazoans. This laboratory will apply the technique of genetic complementation of alleles to up to four easy to score phenotypes. After completing the experiment, students analyze their data and present a poster of their results and interpretation of the data to their peers.

Keywords:  genetics, complementation, nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, presentation

University of Houston (2016)