Nematode genome evolution.

Nematodes are the most abundant type of animal on earth, and live in hot springs, polar ice, soil, fresh and salt water, and as parasites of plants, vertebrates, insects, and other nematodes. This extraordinary ability to adapt, which hints at an underlying genetic plasticity, has long fascinated biologists. The fully sequenced genomes of Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae, and ongoing sequencing projects for eight other nematodes, provide an exciting opportunity to investigate the genomic changes that have enabled nematodes to invade many different habitats. Analyses of the C. elegans and C. briggsae genomes suggest that these include major changes in gene content; as well as in chromosome number, structure and size. Here I discuss how the data set of ten genomes will be ideal for tackling questions about nematode evolution, as well as questions relevant to all eukaryotes.