The many glia of a tiny nematode: studying glial diversity using Caenorhabditis elegans. (21st January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mizeracka, Karolina; Heiman, Maxwell G.
• Is Part Of: Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Volume 4:Number 2(2015:Mar./Apr.)
• Page Start: 151
• Page End: 160
• Publication Date: 2015-01-21
• Subjects: Developmental biology -- Periodicals; 571.805
• DOI: 10.1002/wdev.171
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1759-7684

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="wdev171-abs-0001"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p id="wdev171-para-0001">Glia constitute a major, understudied population of cells in the nervous system. Currently, it is appreciated that these cells exhibit vast morphological, functional, and molecular diversity, but our understanding of glial biology is limited. Some key unanswered questions include how glial diversity is generated during development and what functions distinct glial subtypes serve in the mature nervous system. The nematode <italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</italic> contains a defined set of glia, which have clear morphological and molecular differences, and thus provides a simplified model for understanding glial diversity. In addition, recent experiments suggest that the molecular mechanisms underlying the generation of glial diversity in <italic>C. elegans</italic> are conserved with those in mammals. In this review, we summarize the surprising diversity of glial subtypes present in this simple organism, and highlight current thinking about what roles they perform in the nervous system. We emphasize how genetic approaches may be used to identify the mechanistic origins of glial diversity, which is key to understanding how glia function in health and disease. <italic>WIREs Dev Biol</italic> 2015, 4:151–160. doi: 10.1002/wdev.171</p> <p>For further resources related to this article, please visit the <ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://wires.wiley.com/remdoi.cgi?doi=10.1002/wdev.171" xlink:type="simple" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">WIREs website</ext-link>.</p> <p>Conflict of interest: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.</p> </abstract>