C. elegans genome: All of the genetic information contained in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans).
The genomes of particular nonhuman organisms such as C. elegans have been studied for a number of reasons including the need to improve sequencing and analysis techniques. These nonhuman genomes also provide powerful sets of data against which to compare the human genome.
For example, human genes that contribute to
Alzheimer's disease and
colon cancer have counterpart genes in C. elegans. And at least 100 genes that regulate human fat metabolism have counterpart genes in C. elegans. The C. elegans genome contains 97 million base pairs and is estimated to have 19,099 genes. The sequencing of this genome was completed in 1998.
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