Toxicants Induced Developmental and DNA Damage in Caenorhabditis elegans

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasing synthesis of chemicals, the impact of toxicants on biological systems has become a significant concern, particularly regarding ecological health and genetic integrity. Caenorhabditis elegans, a well-established model organism in toxicological studies, offers unparalleled advantages due to its simple anatomy, translucent body, completely mapped nervous system and fully sequenced genome, making it an ideal candidate for in-depth genetic and developmental studies under various environmental stressors. Additionally, this nematode serves as a robust platform for implementing new approach methodologies (NAMs). These methodologies, which include innovative techniques such as high-throughput screenings and computational models, enable researchers to assess toxic responses efficiently and accurately, limiting the need for traditional animal testing.

This Special Issue aims to assemble pioneering research exploring the impact of environmental toxicants on the developmental processes and DNA stability of C. elegans. The collection of papers in this issue covers a wide range of toxicants, including heavy metals, pesticides, industrial chemicals and emerging concern chemicals, along with their specific mechanisms of action that lead to developmental abnormalities and genetic damage in this organism.

The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Mechanistic studies on toxicant-induced developmental disruptions;

• Investigations into DNA damage and repair mechanisms triggered by toxic exposure;
• Mechanistic studies on how specific toxicants affect the development and genetic stability in elegans;

• Comparative toxicology and the cross-species relevance of findings in C. elegans;
• Advances in methodological approaches to studying toxicant exposure in C. elegans, including high-throughput screening, automated phenotyping and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.

Prof. Dr. Phillip L. Williams
Dr. Lili Tang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• C. elegans
• development
• DNA damage
• toxicants
• high-throughput platform
• emerging concern chemical