A tiny worm helps scientists unravel a genetic clue to kidney disease

edited by Lisa Lock , reviewed by Robert Egan

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Add as preferred source The tiny roundworm C. elegans , shown here as a male, helps Rutgers researchers trace how a genetic change linked to kidney disease affects proteins inside cells. Credit: Juan Wang/Barr Laboratory A microscopic worm that has no kidneys is helping Rutgers scientists understand a genetic change suspected of causing a serious inherited kidney disease. By making a precise change in the roundworm's DNA and following the proteins it produces, researchers discovered the altered protein failed to reach the place where it normally works. But when a healthy version was present in the same animal, that protein continued doing its job.