Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Manipulation Of Ploidy In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Erlyana K. Clarke, Katherine A. Rivera Gomez, Zaki Mustachi, Mikaela C. Murph, Mara Schvarzstein

Advanced Science Research Center

Mechanisms that involve whole genome polyploidy play important roles in development and evolution; also, an abnormal generation of tetraploid cells has been associated with both the progression of cancer and the development of drug resistance. Until now, it has not been feasible to easily manipulate the ploidy of a multicellular animal without generating mostly sterile progeny. Presented here is a simple and rapid protocol for generating tetraploid Caenorhabditis elegans animals from any diploid strain. This method allows the user to create a bias in chromosome segregation during meiosis, ultimately increasing ploidy in C. elegans. This strategy relies on the transient …