A role for Caenorhabditis elegans in understanding the function and interactions of human disease genes

A growing number of medical research teams have begun to explore the experi mental advantages of using a genetic animal model, the nematode worm Caenor habditis elegans, with a view to enhancing our understanding of genes under lying human congenital disorders. In this study, we have compared sequences of positionally cloned human disease genes with the C.elegans database of predicted genes, Drawing on examples from spinal muscular atrophy, polycyst ic kidney disease, muscular dystrophy and Alzheimer's disease, we illustrat e how data from C.elegans can yield new insights into the function and inte ractions of human disease genes.