Caenorhabditis elegans (Caeno, recent; rhabditis, rod; elegans, nice), is a free-living, non-parasitic soil nematode that can be safely used in the laboratory and is common around the world. (Blumenthal, T., Meyer, B.J., Riddle, D.L., Priess, J.F. (Ed.). (1997). C. elegans II. New York, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. p. 1)