Stressed worms: Responding to the post-genomics era

Nematodes are among the most successful organisms in withstanding stress conditions associated with water loss, and viable individuals have been recovered from dry desert soils. Little is known about the biochemical and molecular events underpinning nematodes' physiological responses to dehydration. Post-genomics research in Caenorhabditis elegans may offer an opportunity to understand the stress response better. This review focuses on recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of water-loss associated stress response in the model nematode C. elegans and in parasitic nematodes and discusses the scope for applying the knowledge and tools derived from a model organism for the study of wild, environmentally-adapted, parasitic nematodes, in the light of the emergence of genomics research of non-model organisms.