Evidence map›Paper›PMID 17540043›Full record

ArticleBMC developmental biology2007

The twisted pharynx phenotype in C. elegans.

Claes Axäng, Manish Rauthan, David H Hall, Marc Pilon

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC developmental biology, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 42% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. microPublication biology · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Epithelial morphogenesis, tubulogenesis and forces in organogenesis.Current topics in developmental biology · 2021
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. "CRASH"ing with the worm: insights into L1CAM functions and mechanisms.Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2010
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Developmental genetics of the Caenorhabditis elegans pharynx.Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Developmental biology
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Claes AxängDept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Lundberg Laboratory, Chalmers University, Göteborg, Sweden. claes.axang@molbiotech.chalmers.se <claes.axang@molbiotech.chalmers.se>
Manish Rauthan
David H Hall
Marc Pilon
Chalmers University of Technology · SEUniversity of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

Center for C elegans AnatomyR24OD010943 · OD · ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INC · PI DAVID H. HALL, Nathan Schroeder · 2012 to 2026
$9.6M
CENTER FOR CAENORHABDITIS ELGANS ANATOMYR24RR012596 · NCRR · YESHIVA UNIVERSITY · PI HALL, DAVID H. · 1998 to 2011
$8.0M
NCRR NIH HHS R24 RR012596NCRR NIH HHS RR 12596NIH HHS R24 OD010943
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe pharynx of C. elegans is an epithelial tube whose development has been compared to that of the embryonic heart and the kidney and hence serves as an interesting model for organ development. Several C. elegans mutants have been reported to exhibit a twisted pharynx phenotype but no careful studies have been made to directly address this phenomenon. In this study, the twisting mutants dig-1, mig-4, mnm-4 and unc-61 are examined in detail and the nature of the twist is investigated.

resultsWe find that the twisting phenotype worsens throughout larval development, that in most mutants the pharynx retains its twist when dissected away from the worm body, and that double mutants between mnm-4 and mutants with thickened pharyngeal domains (pha-2 and sma-1) have less twisting in these regions. We also describe the ultrastructure of pharyngeal tendinous organs that connect the pharyngeal basal lamina to that of the body wall, and show that these are pulled into a spiral orientation by twisted pharynges. Within twisted pharynges, actin filaments also show twisting and are longer than in controls. In a mini screen of adhesionmolecule mutants, we also identified one more twisting pharynx mutant, sax-7.

conclusionDefects in pharyngeal cytoskeleton length or its anchor points to the extracellular matrix are proposed as the actual source of the twisting force. The twisted pharynx is a useful and easy-to-score phenotype for genes required in extracellular adhesion or organ attachment, and perhaps forgenes required for cytoskeleton regulation.

Indexed as

Genes, HelminthAnimalsCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalMorphogenesisPharynxPhenotypeTorsion AbnormalityCaenorhabditis elegans Proteins

Identifiers

PMID17540043
PMCPMC1904197
OpenAlexW2123785023

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.