Genetic analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans innate immunity

Abstract

Innate immunity is an ancient and conserved defense mechanism. The worm Caenorhabditis elegans provides a useful tool for studying the function of the innate immune system at the molecular and cellular levels within the context of a whole organism. The powerful genetics of the worm, combined with efficacy of gene knockdown by RNA interference (RNAi), offer complementary tools for analyzing the contribution of individual genes to innate immunity. It is important, however, to exclude pleiotropic effects that confound results. In this chapter, we will describe the procedures for performing both forward and reverse genetic screens and will discuss a number of techniques developed to resolve confounding effects, thus enhancing the power of this system.