• 134914302335866747144282733735710731PublicAssets/6750
    C. elegans with blue and yellow lights in the background
    Active
    View Entry

    Large-Resolution Image
    1349 x 1430 pixels
    4 × 5 inches (300 dpi)
    228.1kb

    Medium-Resolution Image
    674 x 714 pixels
    4 × 5 inches (150 dpi)
    41.8kb

    Low-Resolution Image
    337 x 357 pixels
    5 × 5 inches (72 dpi)
    10.5kb

    C. elegans with blue and yellow lights in the background

    6750

    These microscopic roundworms, called Caenorhabditis elegans, lack eyes and the opsin proteins used by visual systems to detect colors. However, researchers found that the worms can still sense the color of light in a way that enables them to avoid pigmented toxins made by bacteria. This image was captured using a stereo microscope.
    Public Note
    Internal NoteRelated to work reported in the Science paper “C. elegans discriminates colors to guide foraging.” DOI: 10.1126/science.abd3010 MIT press release: https://news.mit.edu/2021/eyeless-roundworms-sense-color-0304 Permission email: From: Dipon Ghosh Sent: Monday, March 15, 2021 1:10 PM To: Abbey Bigler Cc: Bob Horvitz Subject: Re: Request on Behalf of NIGMS Dear Abbey, We'd be happy to share these pictures with you to feature in the NIGMS Image and Video Gallery. I've attached three pictures that we'd shared with the media to accompany press releases about our recent paper to this email. Here's the additional information you requested: We permit inclusion of these pictures in the NIGMS Image and Video Gallery and can confirm that the material is free of copyright restrictions. Credit for these images goes to Eugene L. Q. Lee. These pictures can be accompanied by the following title/caption: Despite lacking both eyes and the opsin proteins used by visual systems to detect colors, the microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans can sense the color of light in its environment while foraging on colorful bacteria. And here's a brief description of our work: Color detection is used by animals to navigate colorful natural environments and is thought to require proteins known as opsins that are central to how visual systems sense light. Our study reports our surprising discovery that despite lacking eyes or opsins, a microscopic roundworm called Caenorhabditis elegans can sense the color of light in its environment to guide it away from pigmented toxins made by harmful colorful bacteria. In general, our work tells us that we have much to learn and explore about how animals can sense light. Perhaps by better understanding color sensitivity in the worm, given that the genes involved appear to be evolutionarily conserved, we might find similar patterns and activities in other organisms and therefore learn new, unexpected ways in which animals, including humans, sense, respond to, and interact with the light that is so ubiquitous in our environment. Please let me know if you have any questions or need any other information. Best, Dipon
    Keywords
    SourceH. Robert Horvitz and Dipon Ghosh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
    Date
    Credit LineEugene L. Q. Lee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
    Investigator
    Record TypePhotograph
    Topic Area(s);#Cells;#Tools and Techniques;#
    Previous Uses
    StatusActive

    View All Properties
    Edit Properties

Add New Version

Note: Uploading a version which already exists will overwrite the existing version with the uploaded file.
* Uploaded thumbnails wider than 120 pixels will be reduced.