Elegant C. elegans
Lai Kuan Goh (UCD), Tom Evans (UCD)

The fluorescence image was captured using Zeiss light microscope (model: Axioskop 2 Plus) with the AxioCam HRC camera. The software used was AxioVision version 4.
The beauty of the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode worm lies in its hermaphroditic nature. It allows us to study the different stages of development biology from oogenesis, fertilization, zygote cleavage and maturation in a single gonad. This image was taken with the aim to reveal the relationship between glp-1 mRNA (in situ hybridization, in red) and CGH1 P-body’s protein (immunofluorescence, in green) in the worm gonad. P-body is referred to as the ‘processing body’ that regulates mRNA degradation and storage. By exploring the P-body, we can unlock the secrets of how certain proteins or factors are segregated in time and space manner to affect the event of cell cleavage in a zygote. The blue color in the image is 4'-6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining of the nucleus which marks each ovum in the gonad.