How mutation spectra reversals increase the odds of evolutionary success

Introduction

Caenorhabditis elegans are tiny free-living nematodes that live in soil. A large number of scientists have taken fancy to these worms as  model organisms owing to their simple genome, tiny size, ease of growing and transparent body.

The winds of change are blowing at TIFR-NCBS. Today, on 21st February 2023, Satyajit (Jitu) Mayor passes the baton to our new director, LS Shashidhara. The NCBS community expresses its heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Mayor, under whose leadership the size and diversity of science at NCBS have grown multifold!

Cell and tissue culture has played an important role in life science research. However, cells in culture behave quite differently from cells in vivo, and the knowledge gained from these cannot be directly extrapolated to cells in the context of an organism. There is a great interest in the scientific community to generate devices that can control the microenvironments of cells in culture.

Contemporary genome engineering technologies have made it possible to use a variety of model organisms to their full potential in genetic research. Although comparatively simpler and time-saving, these technologies still require a considerable amount of technical and scientific skills in addition to state-of-the-art infrastructure. Facilities that can take charge of generating such resources are constantly in demand.

Reliable identification of newly discovered species is vital for field biologists. Access to a type specimen repository to submit stocks to, and an expert taxonomist/systematist to identify and classify them is important for comparative studies.

Seeing is believing. But what happens when one deals with really tiny structures, invisible even to visible light?