Name: long-term culture of individual caenorhabditis elegans on solid media for longitudinal fluorescence monitoring and aversive interventions
Uploaded: 2022-12-02T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Long-Term Culture of Individual Caenorhabditis elegans on Solid Media for Longitudinal Fluorescence Monitoring and Aversive Interventions at JoVE.com

This work was supported by NIH R35GM133588 to G.L.S.,&#160;an NIHT32GM008659 training grant to L.E., a United States National Academy of Medicine Catalyst Award to G.L.S., and the State of Arizona Technology and Research Initiative Fund administered by the Arizona Board of Regents.

1. Recipes
NOTE: Prepare stock solutions before starting microtray plate preparation.
<ol>
	<li>Stock solutions for low-melt agarose nematode growth media (lmNGM)
	<ol>
		<li>Prepare 1 M K2HPO4 by dissolving 174.18 g of K2HPO4 in 1 L of sterile deionized water in a 1 L bottle. Autoclave the solution at 121 &#176;C, 15 psi, for 30 min and store it at room temperature (RT).</li>
		<li>Prepare 1 M KPi (pH 6.0) by dissolving 136.09 g o...

<ol>
	<li>Shaham, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Methods+in+Cell+Biology.">Methods in Cell Biology.</a> WormBook: The Online Review of C. elegans Biology. , (2006).</li><li>Boulin, T., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Eight+genes+are+required+for+functional+reconstitution+of+the+Caenorhabditis+elegans+levamisole-sensitive+acetylcholine+receptor.">Eight genes are required for functional reconstitution of the Caenorhabditis elegans levamisole-sensitive acetylcholine receptor.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (47), 18590-18595 (2008).</li><li>Massie, M. R., Lapoczka, E. M., Boggs, K. D., Stine, K. E., White, G. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Exposure+to+the+metabolic+inhibitor+sodium+azide+induces+stress+protein+expression+and+thermotolerance+in+the+nematode+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">Exposure to the metabolic inhibitor sodium azide induces stress protein expression and thermotolerance in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> Cell Stress &amp; Chaperones. 8 (1), 1-7 (2003).</li><li>Xian, B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=WormFarm:+a+quantitative+control+and+measurement+device+toward+automated+Caenorhabditis+elegans+aging+analysis.">WormFarm: a quantitative control and measurement device toward automated Caenorhabditis elegans aging analysis.</a> Aging Cell. 12 (3), 398-409 (2013).</li><li>Rahman, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=NemaLife+chip:+a+micropillar-based+microfluidic+culture+device+optimized+for+aging+studies+in+crawling+C.+elegans.">NemaLife chip: a micropillar-based microfluidic culture device optimized for aging studies in crawling C. elegans.</a> Scientific Reports. 10 (1), 16190 (2020).</li><li>Chronis, N., Zimmer, M., Bargmann, C. 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S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Microfluidic+approaches+for+Caenorhabditis+elegans+research.">Microfluidic approaches for Caenorhabditis elegans research.</a> Animal Cells and Systems. 24 (6), 311-320 (2020).</li><li>Atakan, H. B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Automated+platform+for+long-term+culture+and+high-content+phenotyping+of+single+C.+elegans+worms.">Automated platform for long-term culture and high-content phenotyping of single C. elegans worms.</a> Scientific Reports. 9 (1), 14340 (2019).</li><li>Solis, G. M., Petrascheck, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Measuring+Caenorhabditis+elegans+life+span+in+96+well+microtiter+plates.">Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans life span in 96 well microtiter plates.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (49), e2496 (2011).</li><li>Leung, C. K., Deonarine, A., Strange, K., Choe, K. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High-throughput+screening+and+biosensing+with+fluorescent+C.+elegans+strains.">High-throughput screening and biosensing with fluorescent C. elegans strains.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (51), e2745 (2011).</li><li>Laranjeiro, R., Harinath, G., Burke, D., Braeckman, B. P., Driscoll, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Single+swim+sessions+in+C.+elegans+induce+key+features+of+mammalian+exercise.">Single swim sessions in C. elegans induce key features of mammalian exercise.</a> BMC Biology. 15 (1), 30 (2017).</li><li>&#199;elen, &. #. 3. 0. 4. ;., Doh, J. H., Sabanayagam, C. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+liquid+cultivation+on+gene+expression+and+phenotype+of+C.+elegans.">Effects of liquid cultivation on gene expression and phenotype of C. elegans.</a> BMC Genomics. 19 (1), 562 (2018).</li><li>Churgin, M. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Longitudinal+imaging+of+Caenorhabditis+elegans+in+a+microfabricated+device+reveals+variation+in+behavioral+decline+during+aging.">Longitudinal imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans in a microfabricated device reveals variation in behavioral decline during aging.</a> eLife. 6, 26652 (2017).</li><li>Turner, E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Long-term+culture+and+monitoring+of+isolated+nematodes+on+solid+media+in+WorMotels.">Long-term culture and monitoring of isolated nematodes on solid media in WorMotels.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. , (2022).</li><li>Pittman, W. E., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+simple+apparatus+for+individual+C.+elegans+culture.">A simple apparatus for individual C. elegans culture.</a> Methods in Molecular Biology. 2144, 29-45 (2020).</li><li>Breimann, L., Preusser, F., Preibisch, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Light-microscopy+methods+in+C.+elegans+research.">Light-microscopy methods in C. elegans research.</a> Current Opinion in Systems Biology. 13, 82-92 (2019).</li><li>Mittal, K. K., Mickey, M. R., Singal, D. P., Terasaki, P. I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Serotyping+for+homotransplantation.+18.+Refinement+of+microdroplet+lymphocyte+cytotoxicity+test.">Serotyping for homotransplantation. 18. Refinement of microdroplet lymphocyte cytotoxicity test.</a> Transplantation. 6 (8), 913-927 (1968).</li><li>. Worm paparazzi-a high throughput lifespan and healthspan analysis platform for individual Caenorhabditis elegans Available from: <a target="_blank" href="https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/661628">https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/661628</a> (2021)</li><li>Porta-de-la-Riva, M., Fontrodona, L., Villanueva, A., Cer&#243;n, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Basic+Caenorhabditis+elegans+methods:+synchronization+and+observation.">Basic Caenorhabditis elegans methods: synchronization and observation.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (64), e4019 (2012).</li><li>Sutphin, G. L., Kaeberlein, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Measuring+Caenorhabditis+elegans+life+span+on+solid+media.">Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans life span on solid media.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (27), e1152 (2009).</li><li>Moore, B. T., Jordan, J. M., Baugh, L. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=WormSizer:+high-throughput+analysis+of+nematode+size+and+shape.">WormSizer: high-throughput analysis of nematode size and shape.</a> PloS One. 8 (2), 57142 (2013).</li><li>Husson, S. J., Costa, W. S., Schmitt, C., Gottschalk, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Keeping+track+of+worm+trackers.">Keeping track of worm trackers.</a> WormBook: The Online Review of C. Elegans Biology. , 1-17 (2013).</li><li>Roussel, N., Sprenger, J., Tappan, S. J., Glaser, J. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Robust+tracking+and+quantification+of+C.+elegans+body+shape+and+locomotion+through+coiling,+entanglement,+and+omega+bends.">Robust tracking and quantification of C. elegans body shape and locomotion through coiling, entanglement, and omega bends.</a> Worm. 3 (4), 982437 (2014).</li><li>Raizen, D. M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Lethargus+is+a+Caenorhabditis+elegans+sleep-like+state.">Lethargus is a Caenorhabditis elegans sleep-like state.</a> Nature. 451 (7178), 569-572 (2008).</li><li>Peters, M. 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Here, we describe a novel culture system that adapts microtrays, originally developed for human leukocyte antigen tissue typing assays, to allow the isolation and characterization of single C. elegans over time in a solid media environment that is contextually similar to the agar-based NGM that is the standard in C. elegans research. This system is compatible with a variety of interventions, including dietary restriction, exogenous drug treatment, a challenge with chemical or environmental stressors, an...

C. elegans are a powerful model organism for research in genetics, cellular biology, and molecular biology, because they are easily cultured in the laboratory, have a short generation time and lifespan, share a high degree of protein homology with mammals, and have a transparent body structure that allows in vivo visualization of fluorescent proteins and dyes1. As a result of the long-standing use of C. elegans as a major model system in a range of fields, including developmental biology and aging, their growth and development are well-understood, their genome has been fully sequenced, and a host of powerful genetic tools have been created, including genome-wide RNAi feeding libraries and thousands of mutant and transgenic strains. Historically, C. elegans are cultivated as populations on solid agar nematode growth media (NGM), and phenotypes are manually evaluated either by direct observation or by imaging and downstream analysis. Fluorescent microscopy is used to capture a variety of molecular phenotypes using dyes or transgenically expressed fluorescent tags in individual C. elegans. Fluorescent imaging typically involves fixing or paralyzing an animal on slides containing thin agarose pads, which is invasive and often lethal. It also involves the use of chemicals, such as levamisole or sodium azide, which can potentially interfere with the molecular process of interest2,3. Together, these approaches allow cross-sectional, population-level data to be collected across a broad range of phenotypes, but do not allow the tracking of individual animals over time.
In recent years, several approaches have emerged to cultivate isolated C. elegans, allowing researchers to capture dynamic changes in physiological and molecular phenotypes of animals over time utilizing new imaging technologies. One category of C. elegans culture approach is microfluidics devices, including WormFarm4, the Nemalife chip5, and the &#39;behavior&#39; chip by Chronis et al.6, among various others7,8,9. Related to these are liquid-based culture methods, that use multi-well plates to characterize individual worms or small populations over time10,11. Microfluidics and microplate systems provide excellent quantitative measurements of phenotypic responses in C. elegans down to a single animal, but the culture environment presents a key limitation. The vast majority of past research in C. elegans, particularly in the field of aging, has been completed on solid agar-based media. Liquid culture causes C. elegans to swim continuously and represents a distinct environmental context that can alter the underlying biology. For example, animals cultured in liquid media have drastically altered fat content and gene expression &#8212; particularly for genes involved in the stress response &#8212;&#160;relative to animals cultured on agar-based solid NGM12,13. An alternative category of single-animal imaging methods involves polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices that isolate individual animals on solid media, in an effort to more closely mimic the standard environment experienced by worms cultured on solid NGM in group culture on Petri plates. The WorMotel is a 240-well PDMS device designed to culture individual animals on solid media. Each well is filled with a modified NGM using low-melt agarose in place of agar and seeded with bacterial food, creating a solid media environment similar to the most common culture system using Petri plates. The well walls are round, allowing each animal to be imaged regardless of location in the well (avoiding the visual obscuring caused by an animal near a wall in a multi-well plate). Copper sulfate in a narrow moat surrounding each well is used as a deterrent to keep animals in their wells14,15. A limitation of this approach is that the copper sulfate is ineffective at preventing worms from fleeing when aversive environmental conditions are present, including dietary restriction, pathogenic bacteria, or chemicals that induce cellular stress (e.g., paraquat).
A second system that uses solid media is the Worm Corral, which employs a hydrogel to create a small sealed environment for each worm on a slide, allowing long-term monitoring of individually isolated animals16. A key limitation is that animals must be sealed into the environment as eggs, requiring the use of sterile animals to prevent reproduction, and limiting drug treatments to a single application. Multi-dose drug trials can be accomplished in the WorMotel either by conducting multiple rounds of exposure prior to transferring worms to the device or by topically adding additional drugs to the wells during the experiment; however, in the latter case, the actual exposure dose after adding an additional drug to an existing well is difficult to precisely quantify and depends on how rapidly the drug degrades. Both the WorMotel and the Worm Corral are excellent for brightfield or darkfield imaging to capture information related to activity and animal physiology (e.g., growth and development). While these systems can be used to monitor fluorescence, in our experience, the PDMS used to create the other single-worm imaging technologies is prone to forming microbubbles, capturing particulate, and other small abnormalities that generate irregular fluorescent artifacts that interfere with consistent fluorescence visualization and quantification, especially in the emission range for GFP, the most common fluorophore used in C. elegans research. To date, live fluorescence imaging of C. elegans individual animals in a longitudinal manner primarily relies on microfluidics devices17.
Here, we describe a novel method for culturing individual C. elegans on solid media that is compatible with both aversive interventions and direct fluorescent imaging. This approach is similar in concept to other single-worm imaging technologies, except that the custom-molded PDMS chip is replaced with commercially available polystyrene microtrays originally developed for micro cytotoxicity assays (also commonly called Terasaki trays)18. These microtrays feature wells that can be filled with solid media and seeded with bacterial food, closely mimicking the environment experienced by animals under standard solid NGM culture methodology. Each well is surrounded by an aversive barrier of palmitic acid rather than copper sulfate. Palmitic acid is commonly used to prevent worms from fleeing solid media, using standard group culture on Petri plates in experiments where worms are challenged with an aversive environment like dietary restriction or exposure to a chemical stressor. The microtrays also produce minimal and consistent fluorescent background, allowing fluorescent imaging of animals directly in their culture environment. This new single-animal solid agar-based culture system not only allows for tracking individual animals throughout life and monitoring growth, development, activity, and lifespan, but is also compatible with direct fluorescent microscopy. Because the worms can be imaged without paralysis or fixation, in vivo fluorescence biomarkers can be quantified longitudinally in individual animals remaining on their culture media, allowing the observation of dynamic changes over the lifetime of each animal. This culture system is also compatible with current generation automated systems for tracking lifespan and other health metrics14,19. We provide a detailed protocol for culturing individual C. elegans in this microtray-based system, discuss potential pitfalls and troubleshooting, and discuss the advantages and limitations relative to other systems, and in particular, an updated and optimized WorMotel protocol15.
Each single-worm culture environment consists of a microtray mounted inside a standard single-well tray using a custom 3D-printed adapter (Figure 1A). The wells are filled with low-melt agarose nematode growth media (lmNGM), seeded with concentrated bacteria as a food source, and surrounded by a palmitic acid coating to prevent worms from fleeing (Figure 1B). The space between the microtray and the walls of the single-well plate is filled with saturated water crystals to maintain humidity (Figure 1B). A detergent coating is applied to the tray lid to prevent condensation. A single worm is added to each well, and the single-well tray is sealed with Parafilm to maintain moisture and allow oxygen exchange. Up to six microtrays can reasonably be prepared in parallel by a single practiced researcher.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>3D-printed terasaki inserts</td>
			<td>Custom printing company</td>
			<td>Robot_Terasaki_tray_insert_10-20 
			-2021.STL</td>
			<td>FDM printing, nozzle size 0.6 mm using standard PLA plus filament</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AirClean systems AC624LF vertical laminar flow fume hood</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>36-100-4376</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bacto peptone</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>211677</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CaCl2</td>
			<td>Acros organics</td>
			<td>349615000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Caenorhabditis elegans N2</td>
			<td>Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC)</td>
			<td>N2</td>
			<td>Wildtype strain</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carbenicillin</td>
			<td>Goldbio</td>
			<td>C-103-25</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cholesterol</td>
			<td>ICN Biomedicals Inc</td>
			<td>101380</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Escherichia coli OP50&#160;</td>
			<td>Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC)</td>
			<td>OP50</td>
			<td>Standard labratory food for C. elegans</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethanol</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>ex0276-4</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fisher Vortex Genie 2</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>G-560</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FUdR&#160;</td>
			<td>Research Products International</td>
			<td>F10705-1.0</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hydrating water crystals&#160;</td>
			<td>M2 Polymer Technologies</td>
			<td>Type S</td>
			<td>Type S super absorbent polymer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isopropyl &#223;-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)</td>
			<td>GoldBio</td>
			<td>I2481C100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>K2HPO4</td>
			<td>Fisher Chemical</td>
			<td>P288-500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Kimwipes</td>
			<td>KimTech</td>
			<td>34155</td>
			<td>Task wipes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LB Broth, Lennox</td>
			<td>BD Difco</td>
			<td>240230</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Leica K5 sCMOS monochrome camera</td>
			<td>Leica Microsystems</td>
			<td>11547112</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Leica M205 FCA Fluorescent Stereo Microscope</td>
			<td>Leica Microsystems</td>
			<td>10450826</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Low-melt agarose</td>
			<td>Research Products International</td>
			<td>A20070-250.0</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgSO4&#160;</td>
			<td>Fisher Chemical</td>
			<td>M-8900</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaCl</td>
			<td>Fisher bioreagents</td>
			<td>BP358-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nunc OmniTray Single-Well Plate</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>264728</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nystatin</td>
			<td>Sigma</td>
			<td>N1538</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Palmitic acid</td>
			<td>Acros organics</td>
			<td>129700010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paper towels</td>
			<td>Coastwide Professional</td>
			<td>365374</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Parafilm M</td>
			<td>Parafilm</td>
			<td>16-101</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stratagene UV Stratalinker 2400</td>
			<td>Stratagene</td>
			<td>400075</td>
			<td>UV crosslinker</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Terasaki trays (Lambda)</td>
			<td>One Lambda</td>
			<td>151431</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thermolyne Dri-bath</td>
			<td>Thermolyne</td>
			<td>DB28125</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tween&#160;</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>J20605-AP</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

long-term culture of individual caenorhabditis elegans on solid media for longitudinal fluorescence monitoring and aversive interventions

Caenorhabditis elegans are widely used to study aging biology. The standard practice in C. elegans aging studies is to culture groups of worms on solid nematode growth media (NGM), allowing the efficient collection of population-level data for survival and other physiological phenotypes, and periodic sampling of subpopulations for fluorescent biomarker quantification. Limitations to this approach are the inability to (1) follow individual worms over time to develop age trajectories for phenotypes of interest and (2) monitor fluorescent biomarkers directly in the context of the culture environment. Alternative culture approaches use liquid culture or microfluidics to monitor individual animals over time, in some cases including fluorescence quantification, with the tradeoff that the culture environment is contextually distinct from solid NGM. The WorMotel is a previously described microfabricated multi-well device for culturing isolated worms on solid NGM. Each worm is maintained in a well containing solid NGM surrounded by a moat filled with copper sulfate, a contact repellent for C. elegans, allowing longitudinal monitoring of individual animals. We find copper sulfate insufficient to prevent worms from fleeing when subjected to aversive interventions common in aging research, including dietary restriction, pathogenic bacteria, and chemical agents that induce cellular stress. The multi-well devices are also molded from polydimethylsiloxane, which produces high background artifacts in fluorescence imaging. This protocol describes a new approach for culturing isolated roundworms on solid NGM using commercially available polystyrene microtrays, originally designed for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing, allowing the measurement of survival, physiological phenotypes, and fluorescence across the lifespan. A palmitic acid barrier prevents worms from fleeing, even in the presence of aversive conditions. Each plate can culture up to 96 animals and easily adapts to a variety of conditions, including dietary restriction, RNAi, and chemical additives, and is compatible with automated systems for collecting lifespan and activity data.

The microtray-based single-worm culture environment described here can be used to monitor a variety of phenotypes, including lifespan and health span, activity and movement, body shape and crawling geometry, and the expression of transgenically expressed fluorescent biomarkers in individual animals over time. The microtray culture system is compatible with lifespan analysis through either manual scoring or image collection and downstream imaging analysis. As with standard culture on Petri plates21...

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Long-Term Culture of Individual Caenorhabditis elegans on Solid Media for Longitudinal Fluorescence Monitoring and Aversive Interventions

Here, we present a protocol to culture isolated individual nematodes on solid media for lifelong physiological parameter tracking and fluorescence quantification. This culture system includes a palmitic acid barrier around single-worm wells to prevent animals from fleeing, allowing the use of aversive interventions, including pathogenic bacteria and chemical stressors.

Long-Term Culture of Individual Caenorhabditis elegans on Solid Media for Longitudinal Fluorescence Monitoring and Aversive Interventions

Caenorhabditis elegans are widely used to study aging biology. The standard practice in C. elegans aging studies is to culture groups of worms on solid ...

While other solid culture methods exist, this is the first solid culture system that allows automated longitudinal tracking of individual animal life and health span and longitudinal imaging of fluorescent biomarkers in one system. This protocol provides comparable results to standard C.elegans experiments on solid NGM is compatible with both aversive interventions and direct live fluorescence imaging. This system will be invaluable for aging research, especially regarding long-term exposure to environmental stressors and observing gene and protein dynamics over extended periods.Avoiding contamination and getting consistent drying across the wells are both challenging. We highlighted key points in the written protocol to minimize these issues. To begin, grind 500 milligrams of solid palmitic acid in a mortar and pestle.Combine it with 15 milliliters of TWEEN 20 in a 50 milliliter conical vial, and mix by vortexing to dissolve the crystals. Add 17.5 milliliters of 100%ethanol, and vortex the solution to dissolve as much palmitic acid as possible. Then add 17.5 milliliters of ultrapure water, and vortex vigorously.Gently heat the solution in a bead bath at 80 degrees Celsius until the palmitic acid dissolves completely. Reheat the bead bath to 80 degrees Celsius. Immediately before use, aliquot one milliliter of the palmitic acid working solution per Microtray into a separate sterile container, and add four microliters of nystatin per one milliliter of palmitic acid solution before heating.Now spray inside and outside the Microtray with ethanol to saturation, and shake off the excess ethanol. To sterilize the Microtray, place the plate and lid separately in the UV crosslinker. After 20 minutes, flip the plate and lid.Next, place the 15 milliliter conical vial with the palmitic acid working solution in the bead bath, and allow any visible crystals to dissolve completely before use. Warm up the Microtray by placing it on the ledge surrounding the bead bath with the lids on for two minutes. Remove the Microtray lid, and slowly add 200 microliters of palmitic acid working solution across the back wall of the Microtray.Replace the lids, and let the Microtray sit on the bead bath for two to three minutes to allow the palmitic acid solution to settle across the bottom of the Microtray. Rotate the Microtray 180 degrees, and add the palmitic acid working solution as demonstrated earlier. Prepare lmNGM by adding the components described in the manuscript.Then pipette 20 microliters of lmNGM into each Microtray placed on the bench. Be sure to cover the Microtray when refilling the pipette to minimize contamination. To seed the Microtray wells with bacterial food, centrifuge a culture grown overnight at 3, 500 G for 20 minutes.Remove the supernatant, and resuspend the bacteria culture at a tenfold concentration with 85 millimolar sodium chloride solution. Then carefully pipet five microliters of tenfold concentrated bacterial culture onto the surface of the lmNGM in each well. Avoid allowing the bacteria culture to run over the side of the well and into the palmitic acid, as this will attract worms to leave the well.Place the sterile 3D printed insert into a sterile single-well plate. Place the Microtray into the 3D printed adapter in the single-well plate. Liberally dispense water crystals on top of the 3D printed insert between the outer well of the Microtray and the inner wall of the single-well plate.If worms are not being added immediately, seal the Microtray to use the next day. Close the tray lid, and use a single piece of Parafilm to wrap all four sides to seal the Microtray. Repeat the sealing step with Parafilm two more times for three layers.Add one worm per well once they've reach the desired life stage. Add 40 microliters of detergent solution to the lid of a single-well plate, and use a task wipe to coat the lid evenly. Use additional task wipes to spread the detergent solution until vision through the lid is not distorted.Stretch the first piece of Parafilm slightly to cover two sides of the tray. Wipe the top of the tray with a task wipe, and damp it with 70%ethanol to remove any fingerprints. Measure the lifespan by gently tapping the side or top of the plate, or shining a bright blue light on the plate, and observing each animal.Score an animal dead if it does not move within a few seconds. Repeat this task every one to three days until all worms have died. Perform fluorescent imaging on single wells.Exposure to copper sulfate and dithiothreitol significantly reduced worm lifespan and health span. In contrast, copper sulfate decreased the proportion of life spent in good health, while dithiothreitol did not. Copper sulfate reduced average activity across individuals within the population to a greater extent than dithiothreitol at all ages.The population average of the individual animal area under the lifetime activity curve is substantially impaired by copper sulfate or dithiothreitol. Cumulative activity for individual animals up to day 10 correlates with their lifespan for dithiothreitol challenged animals, but not for untreated controls or copper sulfate challenged animals. A drastic increase in KYNU-1 expression is observed between days three and eight of adulthood, and there is a progressive decline with age after that.Cumulative KYNU-1 mScarlet expression through day 14 of adulthood correlates with animal lifespan. Since KYNU-1 expression is dynamic throughout a lifespan, we compared KYNU-1 expression at different ages to overall survival across individual animals. At no single time point was KYNU-1 expression significantly correlated with survival.When attempting this procedure, the most important steps are addition of the palmitic acid, pipetting the agar, and introducing the worms. This technique allows longitudinal tracking of lifespan and health span, as well as fluorescent biomarkers in individual worms in a way that is directly comparable to NGM assays.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans Life Span on Solid Media

Aging is a degenerative process characterized by a progressive deterioration of cellular components and organelles resulting in mortality. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a principal model used to study the biology of aging. Because virtually every biological subsystem undergoes functional decline with increasing age, life span is the primary endpoint of interest when considering total rate of aging. In nematodes, life span is typically defined as the number of days an animal remains responsive to external stimuli. Nematodes can be propagated either in liquid media or on solid media in plates, and techniques have been developed for measuring life span under both conditions. Here we present a generalized protocol for measuring life span of nematodes maintained on solid nematode growth media and fed a diet of UV-killed bacteria. These procedures can easily be adapted to assay life span under various common conditions, including a diet consisting of live bacteria, dietary restriction, and RNA interference.

Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans Life Span on Solid Media

In this article we present a general protocol for measuring life span of nematodes maintained on solid media with UV-killed bacterial food.

Aging is a degenerative process characterized by a progressive deterioration of cellular components and organelles resulting in mortality. The nematode ...

Solid Plate-based Dietary Restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans

Reduction of food intake without malnutrition or starvation is known to increase lifespan and delay the onset of various age-related diseases in a wide range of species, including mammals. It also causes a decrease in body weight and fertility, as well as lower levels of plasma glucose, insulin, and IGF-1 in these animals. This treatment is often referred to as dietary restriction (DR) or caloric restriction (CR). The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as an important model organism for studying the biology of aging. Both environmental and genetic manipulations have been used to model DR and have shown to extend lifespan in C. elegans. However, many of the reported DR studies in C. elegans were done by propagating animals in liquid media, while most of the genetic studies in the aging field were done on the standard solid agar in petri plates. Here we present a DR protocol using standard solid NGM agar-based plate with killed bacteria.

Solid Plate-based Dietary Restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans

Here we present a protocol for performing solid plate-based dietary restriction in C. elegans with killed bacteria.

Reduction of food intake without malnutrition or starvation is known to increase lifespan and delay the onset of various age-related diseases in a wide ...

Long-term Culture of Human Breast Cancer Specimens and Their Analysis Using Optical Projection Tomography

Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the Western world. It is well established that the spread of breast cancer, first locally and later distally, is a major factor in patient prognosis. Experimental systems of breast cancer rely on cell lines usually derived from primary tumours or pleural effusions. Two major obstacles hinder this research: (i) some known sub-types of breast cancers (notably poor prognosis luminal B tumours) are not represented within current line collections; (ii) the influence of the tumour microenvironment is not usually taken into account.
We demonstrate a technique to culture primary breast cancer specimens of all sub-types. This is achieved by using three-dimensional (3D) culture system in which small pieces of tumour are embedded in soft rat collagen I cushions. Within 2-3 weeks, the tumour cells spread into the collagen and form various structures similar to those observed in human tumours1. Viable adipocytes, epithelial cells and fibroblasts within the original core were evident on histology. Malignant epithelial cells with squamoid morphology were demonstrated invading into the surrounding collagen. Nuclear pleomorphism was evident within these cells, along with mitotic figures and apoptotic bodies.
We have employed Optical Projection Tomography (OPT), a 3D imaging technology, in order to quantify the extent of tumour spread in culture. We have used OPT to measure the bulk volume of the tumour culture, a parameter routinely measured during the neo-adjuvant treatment of breast cancer patients to assess response to drug therapy. 
Here, we present an opportunity to culture human breast tumours without sub-type bias and quantify the spread of those ex vivo. This method could be used in the future to quantify drug sensitivity in original tumour. This may provide a more predictive model than currently used cell lines.

We have developed a collagen-based in vitro assay which promotes proliferation and invasion from samples of all breast cancer subtypes. Optical Projection Tomography, a three dimensional microscopy technique was utilised to visualise and quantify tumour expansion. This assay may be used to quantify drug response of individual tumour samples.

Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the Western world. It is well established that the spread of breast cancer, first locally and later ...

Long-term Lethal Toxicity Test with the Crustacean Artemia franciscana

Our research activities target the use of biological methods for the evaluation of environmental quality, with particular reference to saltwater/brackish water and sediment. The choice of biological indicators must be based on reliable scientific knowledge and, possibly, on the availability of standardized procedures. In this article, we present a standardized protocol that used the marine crustacean Artemia to evaluate the toxicity of chemicals and/or of marine environmental matrices. Scientists propose that the brine shrimp (Artemia) is a suitable candidate for the development of a standard bioassay for worldwide utilization. A number of papers have been published on the toxic effects of various chemicals and toxicants on brine shrimp (Artemia). The major advantage of this crustacean for toxicity studies is the overall availability of the dry cysts; these can be immediately used in testing and difficult cultivation is not demanded1,2. Cyst-based toxicity assays are cheap, continuously available, simple and reliable and are thus an important answer to routine needs of toxicity screening, for industrial monitoring requirements or for regulatory purposes3. The proposed method involves the mortality as an endpoint. The numbers of survivors were counted and percentage of deaths were calculated. Larvae were considered dead if they did not exhibit any internal or external movement during several seconds of observation4. This procedure was standardized testing a reference substance (Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate); some results are reported in this work. This article accompanies a video that describes the performance of procedural toxicity testing, showing all the steps related to the protocol.

Long-term Lethal Toxicity Test with the Crustacean Artemia franciscana

This study concerns the development and standardization of a valuable methodological protocol to determine long-term (14 days) lethal toxicity exerted by chemical substances, industrial wastewater or sewage and liquid environmental samples on the saltwater crustacean, Artemia franciscana.

Our research activities target the use of biological methods for the evaluation of environmental quality, with particular reference to saltwater/brackish ...

Basic Caenorhabditis elegans Methods: Synchronization and Observation

Research into the molecular and developmental biology of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was begun in the early seventies by Sydney Brenner and it has since been used extensively as a model organism 1. C. elegans possesses key attributes such as simplicity, transparency and short life cycle that have made it a suitable experimental system for fundamental biological studies for many years 2. Discoveries in this nematode have broad implications because many cellular and molecular processes that control animal development are evolutionary conserved 3.
C. elegans life cycle goes through an embryonic stage and four larval stages before animals reach adulthood. Development can take 2 to 4 days depending on the temperature. In each of the stages several characteristic traits can be observed. The knowledge of its complete cell lineage 4,5 together with the deep annotation of its genome turn this nematode into a great model in fields as diverse as the neurobiology 6, aging 7,8, stem cell biology 9 and germ line biology 10. 
An additional feature that makes C. elegans an attractive model to work with is the possibility of obtaining populations of worms synchronized at a specific stage through a relatively easy protocol. The ease of maintaining and propagating this nematode added to the possibility of synchronization provide a powerful tool to obtain large amounts of worms, which can be used for a wide variety of small or high-throughput experiments such as RNAi screens, microarrays, massive sequencing, immunoblot or in situ hybridization, among others. 
Because of its transparency, C. elegans structures can be distinguished under the microscope using Differential Interference Contrast microscopy, also known as Nomarski microscopy. The use of a fluorescent DNA binder, DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole), for instance, can lead to the specific identification and localization of individual cells, as well as subcellular structures/defects associated to them.

Basic Caenorhabditis elegans Methods: Synchronization and Observation

The easiness of maintaining and propagating the nematode C. elegans make it a nice model organism to work with. The possibility of synchronizing worms allows the work with a significant amount of subjects at the same developmental stage, what facilitates the study of one particular process in many animals.

Research into the molecular and developmental biology of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was begun in the early seventies by Sydney Brenner and it has ...

Culturing Caenorhabditis elegans in Axenic Liquid Media and Creation of Transgenic Worms by Microparticle Bombardment

In this protocol, we present the required materials, and the procedure for making modified&#160;C. elegans&#160;Habituation and Reproduction media (mCeHR). Additionally, the steps for exposing and acclimatizing C. elegans grown on E. coli to axenic liquid media are described. Finally, downstream experiments that utilize axenic C. elegans illustrate the benefits of this procedure. The ability to analyze and determine C. elegans&#160;nutrient requirement was illustrated by growing N2 wild type worms in axenic liquid media with varying heme concentrations. This procedure can be replicated with other nutrients to determine the optimal concentration for worm growth and development or, to determine the toxicological effects of drug treatments. The effects of varied heme concentrations on the growth of wild type worms were determined through qualitative microscopic observation and by quantitating the number of worms that grew in each heme concentration. In addition, the effect of varied nutrient concentrations can be assayed by utilizing worms that express fluorescent sensors that respond to changes in the nutrient of interest. Furthermore, a large number of worms were easily produced for the generation of transgenic C. elegans using microparticle bombardment.

Culturing Caenorhabditis elegans in Axenic Liquid Media and Creation of Transgenic Worms by Microparticle Bombardment

C. elegans is usually grown on solid agar plates or in liquid cultures seeded with E. coli. To prevent bacterial byproducts from confounding toxicological and nutritional studies, we utilized an axenic liquid medium, CeHR, to grow and synchronize a large number of worms for a range of downstream applications.

In this protocol, we present the required materials, and the procedure for making modified&#160;C. elegans&#160;Habituation and Reproduction media ...

Isolation, Transfection, and Long-Term Culture of Adult Mouse and Rat Cardiomyocytes

Ex vivo culture of the adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs) presents the most relevant experimental system for the in vitro study of cardiac biology. Adult mammalian CMs are terminally differentiated cells with minimal proliferative capacity. The post-mitotic state of adult CMs not only restricts cardiomyocyte cell cycle progression but also limits the efficient culture of CMs. Moreover, the long-term culture of adult CMs is necessary for many studies, such as CM proliferation and analysis of gene expression.
The mouse and the rat are the two most preferred laboratory animals to be used for cardiomyocyte isolation. While the long-term culture of rat CMs is possible, adult mouse CMs are susceptible to death and cannot be cultured more than five days under normal conditions. Therefore, there is a critical need to optimize the cell isolation and long-term culture protocol for adult murine CMs. With this modified protocol, it is possible to successfully isolate and culture both adult mouse and rat CMs for more than 20 days. Moreover, the siRNA transfection efficiency of isolated CM is significantly increased compared to previous reports. For adult mouse CM isolation, the Langendorff perfusion method is utilized with an optimal enzyme solution and sufficient time for complete extracellular matrix dissociation. In order to obtain pure ventricular CMs, both atria were dissected and discarded before proceeding with the disassociation and plating. Cells were dispersed on a laminin coated plate, which allowed for efficient and rapid attachment. CMs were allowed to settle for 4-6 h before siRNA transfection. Culture media was refreshed every 24 h for 20 days, and subsequently, CMs were fixed and stained for cardiac-specific markers such as Troponin and markers of cell cycle such as KI67.

Here, we present a protocol for the isolation, transfection, and long-term culture of adult mouse and rat cardiomyocytes.

Ex vivo culture of the adult mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs) presents the most relevant experimental system for the in vitro study of cardiac biology. ...

Label-Free Imaging of Lipid Storage Dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans using Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Lipid metabolism is a fundamental physiological process necessary for cellular and organism health. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism often elicits obesity and many associated diseases including cardiovascular disorders, type II diabetes, and cancer. To advance the current understanding of lipid metabolic regulation, quantitative methods to precisely measure in vivo lipid storage levels in time and space have become increasingly important and useful. Traditional approaches to analyze lipid storage are semi-quantitative for microscopic assessment or lacking spatio-temporal information for biochemical measurement. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is a label-free chemical imaging technology that enables rapid and quantitative detection of lipids in live cells with a subcellular resolution. As the contrast is exploited from intrinsic molecular vibrations, SRS microscopy also permits four-dimensional tracking of lipids in live animals. In the last decade, SRS microscopy has been widely used for small molecule imaging in biomedical research and overcome the major limitations of conventional fluorescent staining and lipid extraction methods. In the laboratory, we have combined SRS microscopy with the genetic and biochemical tools available to the powerful model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to investigate the distribution and heterogeneity of lipid droplets across different cells and tissues and ultimately to discover novel conserved signaling pathways that modulate lipid metabolism. Here, we present the working principles and the detailed setup of the SRS microscope and provide methods for its use in quantifying lipid storage at distinct developmental timepoints of wild-type and insulin signaling deficient mutant C. elegans.

Label-Free Imaging of Lipid Storage Dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans using Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy allows selective, label-free imaging of specific chemical moieties and it has been effectively employed to image lipid molecules in vivo. Here, we provide a brief introduction to the principle of SRS microscopy and describe methods for its use in imaging lipid storage in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Lipid metabolism is a fundamental physiological process necessary for cellular and organism health. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism often elicits ...

High-Throughput Screening of Microbial Isolates with Impact on Caenorhabditis elegans Health

With its small size, short lifespan, and easy genetics, Caenorhabditis elegans offers a convenient platform to study the impact of microbial isolates on host physiology. It also fluoresces in blue when dying, providing a convenient means of pinpointing death. This property has been exploited to develop high-throughput label-free C. elegans survival assays (LFASS). These involve time-lapse fluorescence recording of worm populations set in multiwell plates, from which population median time of death can be derived. The present study adopts the LFASS approach to screen multiple microbial isolates at once for the effects on C. elegans susceptibility to severe heat and oxidative stresses. Such microbial screening pipeline, which can notably be used to prescreen probiotics, using severe stress resistance as a proxy for host health is reported here. The protocol describes how to grow both C. elegans gut microbiota isolate collections and synchronous worm populations in multiwell arrays before combining them for the assays. The example provided covers the testing of 47 bacterial isolates and one control strain on two worm strains, in two stress assays in parallel. However, the approach pipeline is readily scalable and applicable to the screening of many other modalities. Thus, it provides a versatile setup to rapidly survey a multiparametric landscape of biological and biochemical conditions that impact C. elegans health.

High-Throughput Screening of Microbial Isolates with Impact on Caenorhabditis elegans Health

Gut microbes may positively or negatively impact the health of their host via specific or conserved mechanisms. Caenorhabditis elegans is a convenient platform to screen for such microbes. The present protocol describes high-throughput screening of 48 bacterial isolates for impact on nematode stress resistance, used as a proxy for worm health.

With its small size, short lifespan, and easy genetics, Caenorhabditis elegans offers a convenient platform to study the impact of microbial isolates on ...

Lipid Supplementation for Longevity and Gene Transcriptional Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Aging is a complex process characterized by progressive physiological changes resulting from both environmental and genetic contributions. Lipids are crucial in constituting structural components of cell membranes, storing energy, and as signaling molecules. Regulation of lipid metabolism and signaling is essential to activate distinct longevity pathways. The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is an excellent and powerful organism to dissect the contribution of lipid metabolism and signaling in longevity regulation. Multiple research studies have described how diet supplementation of specific lipid molecules can extend C. elegans lifespan; however, minor differences in the supplementation conditions can cause reproducibility issues among scientists in different labs. Here, two detailed supplementation methods for C. elegans are reported employing lipid supplementation either with bacteria seeded on plates or bacterial suspension in liquid culture. Also provided herein are the details to perform lifespan assays with lifelong lipid supplementation and qRT-PCR analysis using a whole worm lysate or dissected tissues derived from a few worms. Using a combination of longitudinal studies and transcriptional investigations upon lipid supplementation, the feeding assays provide dependable approaches to dissect how lipids influence longevity and healthy aging. This methodology can also be adapted for various nutritional screening approaches to assess changes in a subset of transcripts using either a small number of dissected tissues or a few animals.

Lipid Supplementation for Longevity and Gene Transcriptional Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

The present protocol describes lipid supplementation methods in liquid and on-plate cultures for Caenorhabditis elegans, coupled with longitudinal studies and gene transcriptional analysis from bulk or a few worms and worm tissues.

Aging is a complex process characterized by progressive physiological changes resulting from both environmental and genetic contributions. Lipids are ...