Roundworms are nematodes, a diverse group of organisms that have adapted to nearly every ecosystem, with over 25,000 known species and likely up to a million different species found across the world. Some of these species are parasites that infect plants, livestock, pets, and even humans. Although these infections are often not deadly, nematodes do cause illness and decrease agricultural productivity. One species of nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, is one of the most genetically studied

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... ms on the planet because it is used as a model organism. Model organisms are non-human species that scientists can study to increase their understanding of biological processes shared with humans. C. elegans shares many genes with humans and can easily be grown in a lab, making it a desirable target for studying genetic traits that are relevant to humans. The importance of C. elegans in genetic research is exemplified by its key role in six Nobel Prize winning studies. However, most of the research conducted using C. elegans is limited to a single laboratory-adapted strain that was isolated from the wild in the 1950s. This means almost all biological and genetic research from C. elegans involves identical genetic information from a single individual organism. "This is like trying to study the whole of human biology by just looking at a single person!" explains Dr