I thank Dr. Maureen Barr, under whose supervision the dauer IL2 remodeling phenotype was initially characterized. Thanks to Dr. C. Britt Carlson for critical reading of the manuscript. Funding in the Barr lab was from the NIH (5R01DK59418) and postdoctoral fellowships from the USDA (2010-65106-20587) and the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research (CSCR12FEL004). Current funding for this work is from a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of ACES FIRE grant.

1. Crude Dauer Pheromone Production
<ol>
	<li>Grow OP50 E. coli from a single colony O/N at 37 &#176;C while shaking in 100 ml of LB broth at 200 rpm. NOTE: This O/N culture can be made in advance and stored at 4 &#176;C.</li>
	<li>Grow N2 C. elegans on 15 - 20 6 cm Petri dishes with NGM agar (See recipe in Table 1) seeded with 50 &#181;l of OP50 E. coli until the bacteria is almost depleted19.</li>
	<li>Make 5x 250 ml of S media (See recipe in Table 1) in 1 L Erlenmeyer flasks<sup...

<ol>
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J., Kim, K., Sengupta, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Pheromone Signaling. , 273-283 (2013).</li><li>Brenner, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+genetics+of+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">The genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> Genetics. 77, 71-94 (1974).</li><li>Ouellet, J., Li, S., Roy, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Notch+signalling+is+required+for+both+dauer+maintenance+and+recovery+in+C.+elegans.">Notch signalling is required for both dauer maintenance and recovery in C. elegans.</a> Development. 135, 2583-2592 (2008).</li><li>Blelloch, R., 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=The+gon-1+gene+is+required+for+gonadal+morphogenesis+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">The gon-1 gene is required for gonadal morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> Dev. 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The authors have nothing to disclose

An examination of dauer-specific neuroplasticity and other dauer-associated morphological changes requires controlled and reliable formation of dauers either through genetic mutation (i.e., daf-c mutants) or by exposure of wild-type animals to pheromone. While the use of a genetic mutation to induce dauers is convenient, it may confound results. Therefore data collected with daf-c mutations should be subsequently confirmed with wild-type animals induced to enter the dauer stage by exposure to d...

Phenotypic plasticity, including developmental and behavioral plasticity, is important for adaptations to adverse environmental conditions and is considered a driving force in evolution1. C. elegans is a model organism frequently used for studies in development and neurobiology. Under ideal conditions, C. elegans develops through four larval stages prior to entering the adult reproductive stage. However, under conditions of low food availability and high population densities, C. elegans can undergo a developmental switch and enter into a long-lived and stress-resistant dauer stage2. Dauers display several morphological and behavioral differences from non-dauers which likely mediate this stress resistance. The environmental cues and genetic pathways regulating dauer entry have been extensively described3, 4, 5, 6, 7. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling individual phenotypic changes that occur during dauer formation are less well understood.
The examination of dauer-specific phenotypes requires the production of dauer animals. This can be accomplished in three ways: 1) Picking from a starved culture of C. elegans, 2) Use of dauer formation constitutive (daf-c) mutants, 3) Induction of dauer formation through purified pheromone. It is relatively simple to pick dauers from a standard NGM plate with a C. elegans population that has exhausted its bacterial food-supply. In our hands, a standard NGM plate originally seeded with 50 &#181;l of OP50 Escherichia coli, allowed to grow for 3 days&#160;and subsequently inoculated with 3 - 4 adult hermaphrodites kept at 25 &#176;C will exhaust the food supply within one week and produce several thousand dauers within an additional 3 days (in addition to numerous starved non-dauers). However, this method is unsatisfactory for examining processes occurring during the molt into dauer. It is difficult to determine which of the several thousand animals on a typical starved plate are entering into dauer. Furthermore, use of a starved plate offers no possibility for synchronization. The use of daf-c mutants allows for synchronization and the reliable generation of dauers. However, there is no guarantee that a particular daf-c mutation will not affect other dauer-specific phenotypes alone or in combination with additional mutations.
The presence of a dauer pheromone was first implied by Cassada and Russell and later demonstrated by Golden and Riddle. The dauer pheromone has since been chemically characterized2, 8, 9, 10. The purified pheromone consists of a complex blend of ascarosides, which in different forms regulate both behavioral and developmental processes9, 11. Use of a crude dauer pheromone extract allows for reliable controlled induction of synchronized dauers in a wild-type background.
The nervous system and associated glial cells undergo remodeling during dauer larva formation12, 13, 14. Some of these changes are irreversible, such as the remodeling of glia cells during dauer13, 14. However other remodeling events are reversible upon a return to favorable environmental conditions. For example, a set of four IL2Q neurons undergo rapid and reversible neuronal remodeling during dauer formation including: dendrite arborization, a switch from single dendritic to multidendritic neurons and axon remodeling12. The methods herein allow for the reliable in vivo imaging of stress-induced neuroplasticity in a model organism. The methods presented for the production and testing of crude dauer pheromone are previously described and compiled from several sources4, 8, 15, 16, 17, 18.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="873">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:259px;">N2 C. elegans Bristol strain</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Caenorhabditis Genetics Center</td>
			<td style="width:212px;"></td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">PT2660 myIs13[Pklp-6::gfp] III</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Upon request from Schroeder lab</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">PT2762 myIs14[Pklp-6::gfp] V</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Upon request from Schroeder lab</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">JK2868 qIs56[Plag-2::gfp] V</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Caenorhabditis Genetics Center</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;">OP50 E. coli</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Caenorhabditis Genetics Center</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Petri dishes</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Tritech Research</td>
			<td>60 mm T3308, 35 mm T3501</td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="132">
			<td height="132" style="height:132px;">NGM agar</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Various</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;">3 g NaCl, 17 g agar, 2.5 g peptone in 975 mL H2O autoclaved cooled to 55&#176;C followed by 1 mL of 5 mg/ml cholesterol in ethanol, 25 mL of 1 M KPO4 buffer (pH 6.0), 1 mL of 1 M CaCl2, 1 mL of 1 M MgSO4</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="356">
			<td height="356" style="height:356px;">S Media</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Various</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;">S media consists of S basal solution (1.46 g NaCl, 0.25g K2HPO4, 1.5 g KH2PO4, 0.25 ml of 5 mg/ml cholesterol in ethanol and H2O to 250 mL. Autoclaved.) To the S basal solution add 2.5 mL of potassium citrate pH 6.0 (2 g citric acid monohydrate, 29.4 g tri-potassium citrate monohydrate, H2O to 100 mL, autoclaved), 2.5 mL of Trace Metals Solution (1.86 g disodium EDTA, 0.69 g FeSO4&#160;&#8226;7 H2O, 0.2 g MnCl2&#8226;4 H2O, 0.29 g ZnSO4&#160;&#8226;7 H2O, 0.025 g CuSO4&#160;&#8226;5 H2O, H2O to 1 liter. Autoclaved and stored in the dark), 0.75 mL of 1 M CaCl2, and 0.75 mL of 1 M MgSO4.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="392">
			<td height="392" style="height:392px;width:259px;">Dauer pheromone plates for dose-response assay</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Various</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;">Mix 0.085 g Noble agar, 0.5 mL of 0.513 M NaCl and 5 &#181;L of 5 mg/ml cholesterol dissolved in ethanol in each of 6x 15 mL culture tubes. Add sufficient crude pheromone to each tube to create a range of concentrations. Add H2O to bring the volume to 4.725 mL.&#160; Boil over a Bunsen burner until the agar is dissolved and then cool to 55 &#176;C. Add 125 &#181;L 1 M KPO4 buffer (pH 6.0), 50 &#181;l 0.1 M CaCl2, 50 &#181;L 0.1 M MgSO4 and 50 &#181;l of 5 mg/ml streptomycin sulfate to each tube.&#160; Pour the contents of each tube into a 35 mm diameter Petri dish. Let the agar solidify at room temperature overnight (if longer, store in enclosed container to prevent excessive drying).</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Microsphere beads 0.1 micron</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Polysciences Inc.</td>
			<td>00876-15</td>
			<td style="width:251px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="68">
			<td height="68" style="height:68px;">M9 buffer</td>
			<td style="width:152px;">Various</td>
			<td></td>
			<td style="width:251px;">Mix 3 g KH2PO4, 6 g Na2HPO4, 5 g NaCl, 1 ml 1 M MgSO4, H2O to 1 liter. Sterilize by autoclaving</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

in vivo imaging of dauer-specific neuronal remodeling in c. elegans

The mechanisms controlling stress-induced phenotypic plasticity in animals are frequently complex and difficult to study in vivo. A classic example of stress-induced plasticity is the dauer stage of C. elegans. Dauers are an alternative developmental larval stage formed under conditions of low concentrations of bacterial food and high concentrations of a dauer pheromone. Dauers display extensive developmental and behavioral plasticity. For example, a set of four inner-labial quadrant (IL2Q) neurons undergo extensive reversible remodeling during dauer formation. Utilizing the well-known environmental pathways regulating dauer entry, a previously established method for the production of crude dauer pheromone from large-scale liquid nematode cultures is demonstrated. With this method, a concentration of 50,000 - 75,000 nematodes/ml of liquid culture is sufficient to produce a highly potent crude dauer pheromone. The crude pheromone potency is determined by a dose-response bioassay. Finally, the methods used for in vivo time-lapse imaging of the IL2Qs during dauer formation are described.

The production of crude dauer pheromone results in a yellow liquid (Figure 1)&#160;that is both heat and cold stable. Aliquots of crude pheromone are stored at -20 &#176;C indefinitely with no obvious loss in activity. Following the production of pheromone, a single dose-response bioassay is sufficient for a rough estimate of potency. However, for most experiments it is necessary to repeat the bioassay 2 - 3 times and take an average from each experiment. Representative results from two pheromone bioassa...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about In Vivo Imaging of Dauer-specific Neuronal Remodeling in C. elegans at JoVE.com

In Vivo Imaging of Dauer-specific Neuronal Remodeling in C. elegans

Following exposure to specific environmental stressors, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans undergoes extensive phenotypic plasticity to enter into a stress-resistant &#8216;dauer&#8217; juvenile stage. We present methods for the controlled induction and imaging of neuroplasticity during dauer.

In Vivo Imaging of Dauer-specific Neuronal Remodeling in C. elegans

The mechanisms controlling stress-induced phenotypic plasticity in animals are frequently complex and difficult to study in vivo. A classic example of ...

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11.1K ビュー.  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Following exposure to specific environmental stressors, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans undergoes extensive phenotypic plasticity to enter into a stress-resistant ‘dauer’ juvenile stage. We present methods for the controlled induction and imaging of neuroplasticity during dauer. 