Update on CeNeuro2022

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Dear Participants of CeNeuro 2022,

We look forward to a rich and stimulating meeting this summer! To remind everyone, the date is set for July 24-27, 2022.

As uncertainty around the world continues, we cannot make a decision on the format at the moment. We desperately hope to be able to organize a hybrid meeting and welcome as many people as possible in person, in Vienna. However, we will re-evaluate this decision in mid/end of March and and if a hybrid meeting is not possible, we will still hold an online only meeting.

Regardless of the final format, please note that the deadline for abstract submission will be at the end of April. Thank you for your patience and understanding of the challenges associated with organizing such events at the moment.

We wish you a wonderful 2022,

–The CeNeuro2022 organizers – Henrik Bringmann, Luisa Cochella, Alexander Gottschalk, Manuel Zimmer.


Two new genes in C. elegans!

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After more than 20 years of careful manual curation of C. elegans, it is quite unusual to find new protein-coding genes. But in release WS283 we have no less than 2 new genes! We were alerted to the first one by Dr. Adam Norris from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA. Working with WormBase curators, we were able to comprehensively annotate the new gene. As finding a new gene is such a remarkable event, Dr. Norris opted for writing a micropublication describing the new gene WBGene00306123 (Y97E10C.2). Iyengar, A; Diamantakis, S; Norris, A (2021), “A new gene on C. elegans chromosome V”

Buoyed by the first discovery, WormBase curators looked through our curation records and found a second new gene to annotate: WBGene00306124 (W04B5.9). Both of these new genes are in release WS283, and we look forward to learning even more about the biology of these new genes.

If you happen to spot what you think is a new gene – please email help@wormbase.org to let our curators know about it!

New Release of WormBase: WS283

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WormBase has been updated to the newest release of the site and data, WS283. This is the final release for 2021. Full details are available in the release notes.

Of particular note, we’ve added the first batch of whole gene deletions generated by the Rougvie, Moerman, Hutter and Sternberg labs, expanded our handling of NBRP tm deletion alleles, and refined the presentation of variations.

Please note that there has been a decrease in the number of gene descriptions (-6852) in this release of WormBase; a bug resulted in descriptions with empty sentence templates in genes for which no known protein domains were found.

Non-C. elegans worms no longer display orthologs for human, mouse, and rat; these data are available in Wormbase ParaSite (eg. https://tinyurl.com/WBGene00224532).

The next release of WormBase (WS284) is scheduled for April 2022.

Mentor Match Initiative 2022 – deadline approaching

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Dear LabHeads, 

Please share this information for postdoc and early career faculty prospective MENTEES so we can reach all interested community members. The request form will close DECEMBER 19. 

The Mentor Match initiative started in 2020 as a means to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in the C. elegans research community. Mentoring within the larger C. elegans community, in contrast to intra-institutional mentoring, provides an opportunity for mentees to gain from the collective experience of the community. The community already does this on an ad hoc basis, but a more open and accessible mentoring program is needed, especially for people who are members of underrepresented groups in our community.

If you are a C. elegans postdoc or early career faculty member who would like to be matched with a mentor in the field, please fill the survey request form here. The MENTEE request form will close DECEMBER 19.

The survey request form includes a link to a list of prospective MENTORS and relevant information about their experience. Many thanks to the 56 prospective mentors who are available for the 2022 match! 

For general information and logistics regarding the C. elegans Community Mentor Match Program, see this page (please ignore scheduling items on that page, if they are out of date)

With best wishes,

The C. elegans community mentor match committee for 2022

Thank you to Mark Edgley who is retiring!

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Mark Edgley has been a huge supporter of the CGC and worm community for decades. He single handedly moved the collection from MO to MN in liquid nitrogen tanks carefully nestled in the back of a rented Uhaul, and in the time since has had a hand in generating many thousands of strains for the community.  Today he retires. WormBase joins the CGC and others in thanking him for his tireless service.

Please send him a note of thanks and spread the word to your labs and colleagues to do the same.  His, and Don Moeman’s, retirements are a big loss for the community.