''Caenorhabditis sinica'', is a species of ''

Caenorhabditis ''Caenorhabditis'' is a genus of nematodes which live in bacteria-rich environments like compost piles, decaying dead animals and rotting fruit. The name comes from Greek: caeno- (καινός (caenos) = new, recent); rhabditis = rod-like (ῥά ...

'' nematodes, belonging to the ''Elegans'' super-group and ''Elegans'' group within the genus. It is closely related to several species isolated from the lands adjacent to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as well as to ''C. briggsae'' and ''C. nigoni.'' The species was known as “''C. sp. 5''” prior to 2014. ''C. sinica'' is known for having very high genetic diversity in its genome. Like other ''

'' species, ''C. sinica'' is a ~1mm long roundworm with a transparent cuticle and that eats bacteria. Wild isolate strains of ''C. sinica'' have been collected from various rotting plant tissue substrates in temperate and tropical regions throughout China since its initial isolation in 2005.

Anatomy

Measurements of adult ''C. sinica'' returned a mean body length of 1531.9μm for females and 959.81μm for males. The average male size of ''C. sinica'' is comparatively larger than males from the model system ''

C. elegans ''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' (r ...

'' (824.74μm). ''C. sinica'' is morphologically distinct from all other Caenorhabditis species within the Elegans group due to the presence of a distinct three-pointed hook on the male precloacal lip, part of the male reproductive structure.

Spicule Shape

The spicules of ''C. sinica'' males consist of a long, slender, pointed, and simple morphology, which is a common feature among ''Caenorhabditis'' species outside of the ''Elegans'' super-group (with the exception of ''C. japonica'' and ''C. afra'').

Reproduction

Like most species of ''Caenorhabditis'', ''C. sinica'' demonstrates a

gonochoristic In biology, gonochorism is a sexual system where there are only two sexes and each individual organism is either male or female. The term gonochorism is usually applied in animal species, the vast majority of which are gonochoric. Gonochorism c ...

mode of reproduction, with populations containing both female and male sexes. This reproductive mode contrasts with ''C. elegans'' and ''C. briggsae'' which demonstrate an

androdioecious Androdioecy is a reproductive system characterized by the coexistence of males and hermaphrodites. Androdioecy is rare in comparison with the other major reproductive systems: dioecy, gynodioecy and hermaphroditism. In animals, androdioecy has bee ...

mode of reproduction, such that populations primarily include self-fertile hermaphrodites with more rare males.

Hybridization

In the lab, ''C. sinica'' can hybridize with ''C. nigoni'' to form young larvae, and can hybridize with ''C. briggsae'' to form young deformed female larvae. These hybrids do not yield fertile adults. Hybridization of ''C. sinica'' with 9 other ''Caenorhabditis'' species was attempted, but was unsuccessful (''C. elegans, C. remanei'', ''C. japonica'', ''C. doughertyi, C. afra, C. wallacei, C. brenneri, C. nouraguensis, C. macrosperma'') .

Ecology

''C. sinica'' was initially isolated in 2005 from Guangxi, China. Since then, ''C. sinica'' has been isolated from rotting fruit, rotting leaves, isopods and soil substrates in temperate and tropical regions in China. Samples have been collected from the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Hubei, Guangxi, Jiangsu and Zhejiang as well as from Bac Kan, Vietnam. ''C. sinica'' has not been isolated from regions outside of East Asia so far.

Genetics

Genome size and protein coding genes

The genome of ''C. sinica'' (strain JU800) consists of approximately 130.76 million base pairs and 34,696 protein coding genes. These genome characteristics make it larger than the ''C. elegans'' genome, which consists of around 100.29 million base pairs and 20,326 protein coding genes. Like all known ''Caenorhabditis'' species, its genome is partitioned into six chromosomes (five autosomes and one “X” sex chromosome).

References

External links

''Caenorhabditis sp. 5''
at nematodes.org sinica Nematodes described in 2014 Invertebrates of Asia Fauna of East Asia Fauna of China {{Rhabditida-stub