We thank Dr. Diane Baronas-Lowell for critical reading of the manuscript. This work was supported by an FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Seed Grant and an Aging Scholarship from the Ellison Medical Foundation to K.J.

1. XLD (Xylose Lysine Desoxycholate) Agar Plates
XLD agar is a selective growth medium for Salmonella, which appears as black colonies on XLD agar plates. However, if there are no concerns of contamination, a regular LB plate can be substituted.
<ol>
	<li>Weigh out 5.5 g XLD agar and resuspend in 5 ml deionized water.</li>
	<li>Mix thoroughly until all agar is wet. Add 95 ml deionized water until all lumps are gone and the medium is completely resuspended.</li>
	<li>Boil the medium to dissolve completely (do not autoclave).</li>
	<li>Cool the medium at room temperature to 50 &#176;C.</li>
	<li>Pour 25 ml agar in each 95 x 15 mm (diameter x height) plate (plates sealed with Parafilm can be stored at 4 &#176;C for up to 1&#160;month).</li>
</ol>
2. Nematode Growth Medium (NGM) RNAi Feeding Plates
Preparation of C. elegans NGM plates has been described previously19. Here a procedure is briefly described to add the antibiotic ampicillin and the RNAi chemical inducer isopropyl &#946;-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) into the NGM media to make the RNAi feeding plates.
<ol>
	<li>Dissolve 3 g NaCl and 2.5 g Bacto peptone in 1 L&#160;deionized water.</li>
	<li>Add 17 g Bacto agar into the media.</li>
	<li>Autoclave the media for 45 min&#160;and cool the media to 50 &#176;C in a water bath.</li>
	<li>Add the following solutions: 1 ml cholesterol (5 mg/ml in 95% ethanol), 1 ml 1 M CaCl2, 1 ml 1 M MgSO4, and 25 ml 1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.0). Mix well.</li>
	<li>Add 1 ml 1 M IPTG and 500 &#181;l ampicillin (100 mg/ml in sterile water).</li>
	<li>Mix the solution well and pour into 60 x 15 mm (diameter x height) petri plates using a Pipet Aid and 25 ml serological pipette following sterile procedures. Fill each plate with 12 ml agar. Plates can be stored at 4 &#176;C for up to 1&#160;month.</li>
</ol>
3. Prepare RNAi-treated Animals for Infection
The essential autophagy gene bec-1 is used as an example to examine the function of a host gene in defense against Salmonella infection. The experimental procedures are illustrated in Figure 1 and Table 1. The protocol for preparing RNAi-treated animals for infection follows, with the day of each experimental step given in parentheses.
<ol>
	<li>Inoculate bec-1 RNAi feeding and control empty vector L4440 RNAi feeding bacteria by placing a flake of -80 &#176;C frozen bacteria into 2 ml LB medium supplemented with 100 mg/ml ampicillin (Day 1). Repeat this step once a week during the entire experiment to have fresh RNAi bacteria. Store the culture in the 4 &#176;C refrigerator when not used.</li>
	<li>Seed 100 ml of overnight RNAi bacterial culture on RNAi plates. Prepare three bec-1 RNAi and three control empty vector RNAi plates. Incubate the plates at 37 &#176;C overnight (Day 2).</li>
	<li>Remove the RNAi plates from the 37 &#176;C incubator and allow them to cool down to room temperature on the bench. Pick up well-fed L4 wild type N2 hermaphrodites and transfer them to bec-1 RNAi and control empty vector RNAi plates. Place three worms per plate, on triplicate plates. On the same day, prepare RNAi plates as described in step 3.2 (Day 3).</li>
	<li>Incubate the RNAi plates with worms in the 20 &#176;C incubator for 36-40 hr&#160;and transfer worms to fresh corresponding RNAi plates prepared in step 3.3. After worms are transferred, incubate the plates in the 20 &#176;C incubator for 64 hr&#160;(Day 4).</li>
</ol>
4. Prepare Salmonella for Infection
<ol>
	<li>Streak Salmonella -80 &#176;C frozen stock on 1&#160;XLD agar plate and incubate the plate at 37 &#176;C overnight (Day 5).</li>
	<li>Pick a well-isolated black Salmonella colony and inoculate it in 2 ml LB medium at 37 &#176;C with shaking overnight (Day 6).</li>
	<li>Seed 80 ml Salmonella overnight culture on 1&#160;C. elegans 60 x 15 mm (diameter x height) NGM agar plate and prepare 6&#160;plates in total. Incubate the plates at room temperature for 6&#160;hr. The bacterial culture should dry and form a lawn on the plate (Day 7).</li>
</ol>
5. Infect RNAi-treated Worms with Salmonella
<ol>
	<li>Transfer bec-1 RNAi-treated and control empty vector RNAi-treated L4 N2 hermaphrodites (progeny of worms set up in Step 3) to Salmonella plates. Place 40 worms per plate on 3&#160;plates for each group. Incubate the worm plates at 20 &#176;C for 48 hr&#160;(Day 7).</li>
	<li>Prepare one set of fresh RNAi plates as described in steps 3.1 and 3.2 (Day 7 and Day 8).</li>
	<li>After 48 hr&#160;infection, transfer Salmonella-infected worms to the corresponding RNAi plates prepared in step 5.2 and incubate at 20 &#176;C (Day 9).</li>
</ol>
6. Survival Assay
<ol>
	<li>Score the survival of worms daily and transfer worms to fresh corresponding RNAi plates during the egg-laying time. Prepare a set of fresh RNAi plates prior to each worm transfer as described in steps 3.1 and 3.2. Touch the worm body (head, middle part and tail) gently with an end-flattened platinum wire. A worm is scored as dead if no movement of the worm body is observed.</li>
	<li>Score the survival of worms daily or every other day, and transfer worms to fresh corresponding RNAi plates twice a week after worms stop laying eggs.</li>
	<li>After all worms die, pool the survival data from triplicate plates as one data set. Input the survival data of each group into appropriate statistical software such as GraphPad Prism to generate survival curves and to perform Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. The entire experiment is repeated at least once to confirm the conclusion.</li>
</ol>

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J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Caenorhabditis+elegans:+an+emerging+genetic+model+for+the+study+of+innate+immunity.">Caenorhabditis elegans: an emerging genetic model for the study of innate immunity.</a> Nat Rev Genet. 4, 380-390 (2003).</li><li>Mylonakis, E., Aballay, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Worms+and+flies+as+genetically+tractable+animal+models+to+study+host-pathogen+interactions.">Worms and flies as genetically tractable animal models to study host-pathogen interactions.</a> Infection and Immunity. 73, 3833-3841 (2005).</li><li>Ford, M. W., 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+descriptive+study+of+human+Salmonella+serotype+typhimurium+infections+reported+in+Ontario+from+1990+to+1997.">A descriptive study of human Salmonella serotype typhimurium infections reported in Ontario from 1990 to 1997.</a> Can J Infect Dis. 14, 267-273 (2003).</li><li>Voetsch, A. C., 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=FoodNet+estimate+of+the+burden+of+illness+caused+by+nontyphoidal+Salmonella+infections+in+the+United+States.">FoodNet estimate of the burden of illness caused by nontyphoidal Salmonella infections in the United States.</a> Clin Infect Dis. 38 Suppl 3, (2004).</li><li>Aballay, A., Yorgey, P., Ausubel, F. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Salmonella+typhimurium+proliferates+and+establishes+a+persistent+infection+in+the+intestine+of+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">Salmonella typhimurium proliferates and establishes a persistent infection in the intestine of Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> Curr Biol. 10, 1539-1542 (2000).</li><li>Alegado, R. A., Tan, M. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Resistance+to+antimicrobial+peptides+contributes+to+persistence+of+Salmonella+typhimurium+in+the+C.+elegans+intestine.">Resistance to antimicrobial peptides contributes to persistence of Salmonella typhimurium in the C. elegans intestine.</a> Cell Microbiol. 10, 1259-1273 (2008).</li><li>Jia, K., 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=Autophagy+genes+protect+against+Salmonella+typhimurium+infection+and+mediate+insulin+signaling-regulated+pathogen+resistance.">Autophagy genes protect against Salmonella typhimurium infection and mediate insulin signaling-regulated pathogen resistance.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 106, 14564-14569 (2009).</li><li>Tenor, J. L., McCormick, B. A., Ausubel, F. M., Aballay, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Caenorhabditis+elegans-based+screen+identifies+Salmonella+virulence+factors+required+for+conserved+host-pathogen+interactions.">Caenorhabditis elegans-based screen identifies Salmonella virulence factors required for conserved host-pathogen interactions.</a> Curr Biol. 14, 1018-1024 (2004).</li><li>Levine, B., Klionsky, D. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Development+by+self-digestion:+molecular+mechanisms+and+biological+functions+of+autophagy.">Development by self-digestion: molecular mechanisms and biological functions of autophagy.</a> Developmental Cell. 6, 463-477 (2004).</li><li>Birmingham, C. L., Smith, A. C., Bakowski, M. A., Yoshimori, T., Brumell, J. 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Genome sequence of the nematode C. elegans: a platform for investigating biology.</a> Science. 282, 2012-2018 (1998).</li><li>Fire, 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=Potent+and+specific+genetic+interference+by+double-stranded+RNA+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> Nature. 391, 806-811 (1998).</li><li>Kamath, R. S., Martinez-Campos, M., Zipperlen, P., Fraser, A. 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G., 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=Functional+genomic+analysis+of+C.+elegans+chromosome+I+by+systematic+RNA+interference.">Functional genomic analysis of C. elegans chromosome I by systematic RNA interference.</a> Nature. 408, 325-330 (2000).</li><li>Stiernagle, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Maintenance+of+C.+elegans.">Maintenance of C. elegans.</a> WormBook: the online review of C elegans biology. , 1-11 (2006).</li><li>Aballay, A., Ausubel, F. 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The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

C. elegans is a simple genetic model organism that eats bacteria as its nutrient source. Thus, it is easy to substitute its normal bacterial food with an intestinal pathogen to investigate the interactions between C. elegans and the chosen pathogen. Herein a protocol is described to combine Salmonella infection and C. elegans RNAi feeding treatment to examine the role of host genes in defense against Salmonella infection. Previous infection protocols expose C. elegans...

The free-living soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a simple and genetically tractable model organism used to study many biological questions. C. elegans dominantly exists as self-fertilizing hermaphrodites. Males are spontaneously generated by non-disjunction of the X chromosome during gametogenesis1,2. In the presence of abundant food, C. elegans continuously develop through four larval stages to adult. Temperature also influences C. elegans development; faster development is observed at higher temperatures. In the laboratory, C. elegans is cultured at a standard temperature of 20 &#176;C on agar plates with seeded bacterium Escherichia coli (strain OP50) as food1,2.
In the last decade, C. elegans has emerged as an invertebrate organism to study host-pathogen interactions3-5. In nature, C. elegans eats bacteria as its nutrient source1,2. Its normal bacterial laboratory food, OP50, can be easily substituted with other pathogens to examine the interactions between C. elegans and any chosen pathogen. Under these conditions, the intestine is the primary site of the infection. Indeed, a wide range of bacterial pathogens has been shown to lethally infect C. elegans3-5.
The gram-negative bacterium Salmonella is a gastrointestinal pathogen that causes human food-borne illness worldwide6,7. C. elegans is a good model host for Salmonella typhimurium as this bacterium replicates and exhibits persistent intestinal infections8-10. C. elegans has been used to identify both novel and previously known Salmonella virulence factors11. Interestingly, the C. elegans immune system successfully limits Salmonella replication. It has been reported previously that inhibition of autophagy genes renders increased Salmonella replication in C. elegans, resulting in early death of infected worms10. Macroautophagy (herein referred to as autophagy) is a dynamic process involving the rearrangement of subcellular membranes to sequester cytoplasm and organelles for delivery to the lysosome for degradation12. Autophagy has been reported to limit the Salmonella replication in C. elegans and in mammals10,13.
The C. elegans genome was the first multicellular eukaryotic genome sequenced; it is responsive to RNAi treatment14-16. Moreover, RNAi can be administrated effectively by subjecting worms to ingest bacteria containing the double-stranded RNA of the target gene, known as RNAi feeding16,17. Whole genome RNAi feeding libraries have been generated for genome-wide RNAi screening16,18. Herein, a Salmonella infection protocol is coupled with RNAi feeding to allow testing C. elegans genes of interest for their ability to protect against Salmonella infection.

<table><tbody><tr><td>LB Broth</td><td>Fisher</td><td>BP9723-500</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>XLD agar</td><td>EMD Chemicals</td><td>1.05287.0500</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Bacto Agar</td><td>Fisher</td><td>DF0140-01-0</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Peptone</td><td>Fisher</td><td>BP1420-500</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Sodium Chloride</td><td>Fisher</td><td>S671-500</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Calcium Chloride</td><td>Fisher</td><td>C69-500</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Magnesium Sulfate</td><td>Fisher</td><td>M65-500</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>IPTG</td><td>Gold Biotechnology</td><td>12481C50</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cholesterol</td><td>Sigma</td><td>C8667-25G</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ampicillin</td><td>Fisher</td><td>BP1760-25</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>&lt;em&gt;Salmonella typhimurium&lt;/em&gt;</td><td>ATCC</td><td>ATCC14028</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Petri Dish 95 x 15 mm</td><td>Fisher</td><td>FB0875714G</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Petri Dish 60 x 15 mm&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Fisher</td><td>08-757-13A</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Falcon Serological pipet</td><td>Fisher</td><td>13-668-2</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Falcon Express Pipet-Aid</td><td>Fisher</td><td>13-675-42</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>MaxQ6000 shaking incubator&amp;nbsp;</td><td>Thermo Scientific</td><td>SHKE6000-7</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Incubator</td><td>Percival</td><td>I-36DL</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

a protocol to infect caenorhabditis elegans with salmonella typhimurium

In the last decade, C. elegans has emerged as an invertebrate organism to study interactions between hosts and pathogens, including the host defense against gram-negative bacterium Salmonella typhimurium. Salmonella establishes persistent infection in the intestine of C. elegans and results in early death of infected animals. A number of immunity mechanisms have been identified in C. elegans to defend against Salmonella infections. Autophagy, an evolutionarily conserved lysosomal degradation pathway, has been shown to limit the Salmonella replication in C. elegans and in mammals. Here, a protocol is described to infect C. elegans with Salmonella typhimurium, in which the worms are exposed to Salmonella for a limited time, similar to Salmonella infection in humans. Salmonella infection significantly shortens the lifespan of C. elegans. Using the essential autophagy gene bec-1 as an example, we combined this infection method with C. elegans RNAi feeding approach and showed this protocol can be used to examine the function of C. elegans host genes in defense against Salmonella infection. Since C. elegans whole genome RNAi libraries are available, this protocol makes it possible to comprehensively screen for C. elegans genes that protect against Salmonella and other intestinal pathogens using genome-wide RNAi libraries.

At 20 &#176;C, the median lifespan of wild type N2 worms is 17 days (Figure 2A and Table 2). Salmonella infection significantly decreases the median lifespan of N2 worms to 10.5 days (p = 0.0002, log-rank test) (Figure 2A).
If a C. elegans gene plays an important role in defense against Salmonella infection, it is predicted that its inhibition will impart susceptibility to Salmonella infection. In fact, comp...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Protocol to Infect Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella typhimurium at JoVE.com

A Protocol to Infect Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella typhimurium

C. elegans has emerged as a new genetic model to study host-pathogen interactions. Here we describe a protocol to infect C. elegans with Salmonella typhimurium coupled with the double-strand RNAi interference technique to examine the role of host genes in defense against Salmonella infection.

A Protocol to Infect Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella typhimurium

In the last decade, C. elegans has emerged as an invertebrate organism to study interactions between hosts and pathogens, including the host defense ...

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Immunology and Infection

11.5K Views.  Florida Atlantic University. C. elegans has emerged as a new genetic model to study host-pathogen interactions. Here we describe a protocol to infect C. elegans with Salmonella typhimurium coupled with the double-strand RNAi interference technique to examine the role of host genes in defense against Salmonella infection.

Video: A Protocol to Infect Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella typhimurium

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions

We demonstrate a method using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model host to study microbial interaction. Microbes are introduced via the diet making the intestine the primary location for disease. The nematode intestine structurally and functionally mimics mammalian intestines and is transparent making it amenable to microscopic study of colonization. Here we show that pathogens can cause disease and death. We are able to identify microbial mutants that show altered virulence. Its conserved innate response to biotic stresses makes C. elegans an excellent system to probe facets of host innate immune interactions. We show that hosts with mutations in the dual oxidase gene cannot produce reactive oxygen species and are unable to resist microbial insult. We further demonstrate the versatility of the presented survival assay by showing that it can be used to study the effects of inhibitors of microbial growth. This assay may also be used to discover fungal virulence factors as targets for the development of novel antifungal agents, as well as provide an opportunity to further uncover host-microbe interactions. The design of this assay lends itself well to high throughput whole-genome screens, while the ability to cryo-preserve worms for future use makes it a cost-effective and attractive whole animal model to study.

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions

Here, we present the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a versatile host model to study microbial interaction.

We demonstrate a method using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model host to study microbial interaction. Microbes are introduced via the diet making the ...

Genetics

Automated Separation of C. elegans Variably Colonized by a Bacterial Pathogen

The wormsorter is an instrument analogous to a FACS machine that is used in studies of Caenorhabditis elegans, typically to sort worms based on expression of a fluorescent reporter. Here, we highlight an alternative usage of this instrument, for sorting worms according to their degree of colonization by a GFP-expressing pathogen. This new usage allowed us to address the relationship between colonization of the worm intestine and induction of immune responses. While C. elegans immune responses to different pathogens have been documented, it is still unknown what initiates them. The two main possibilities (which are not mutually exclusive) are recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, and detection of damage caused by infection. To differentiate between the two possibilities, exposure to the pathogen must be dissociated from the damage it causes. The wormsorter enabled separation of worms that were extensively-colonized by the Gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with the damage likely caused by pathogen load, from worms that were similarly exposed, but not, or marginally, colonized. These distinct populations were used to assess the relationship between pathogen load and the induction of transcriptional immune responses. The results suggest that the two are dissociated, supporting the possibility of pathogen recognition.

Automated Separation of C. elegans Variably Colonized by a Bacterial Pathogen

The wormsorter facilitates genetic screens in Caenorhabditis elegans by sorting worms according to expression of fluorescent reporters. Here, we describe a new usage:&#160;sorting according to colonization by a GFP-expressing pathogen, and we employ it to examine the poorly understood role of pathogen recognition in initiating immune responses.

The wormsorter is an instrument analogous to a FACS machine that is used in studies of Caenorhabditis elegans, typically to sort worms based on expression ...

High-throughput Assay to Phenotype Salmonella enterica Typhimurium Association, Invasion, and Replication in Macrophages

Salmonella species are zoonotic pathogens and leading causes of food borne illnesses in humans and livestock1. Understanding the mechanisms underlying Salmonella-host interactions are&#160;important to elucidate the molecular pathogenesis of Salmonella infection. The Gentamicin protection assay to phenotype Salmonella association, invasion and replication in phagocytic cells was adapted to allow high-throughput screening to define the roles of deletion mutants of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium in host interactions using RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. Under this protocol, the variance in measurements is significantly reduced compared to the standard protocol, because wild-type and multiple mutant strains can be tested in the same culture dish and at the same time. The use of multichannel pipettes increases the throughput and enhances precision. Furthermore, concerns related to using less host cells per well in 96-well culture dish were addressed. Here, the protocol of the modified in vitro Salmonella invasion assay using phagocytic cells was successfully employed to phenotype 38 individual Salmonella deletion mutants for association, invasion and intracellular replication. The in vitro phenotypes are presented, some of which were subsequently confirmed to have in vivo phenotypes in an animal model. Thus, the modified, standardized assay to phenotype Salmonella association, invasion and replication in macrophages with high-throughput capacity could be utilized more broadly to study bacterial-host interactions.

High-throughput Assay to Phenotype Salmonella enterica Typhimurium Association, Invasion, and Replication in Macrophages

A high-throughput assay to in vitro phenotype Salmonella or other bacterial association, invasion, and replication in phagocytic cells with high-throughput capacity was developed. The method was employed to evaluate Salmonella gene knockout mutant strains for their involvements in host-pathogen interactions.

Salmonella species are zoonotic pathogens and leading causes of food borne illnesses in humans and livestock1. Understanding the mechanisms underlying ...

A High-throughput, High-content, Liquid-based C. elegans Pathosystem

The number of new drugs identified by traditional, in vitro screens has waned, reducing the success of this approach in the search for new weapons to combat multiple drug resistance. This has led to the conclusion that researchers do not only need to find new drugs, but also need to develop new ways of finding them. Amongst the most promising candidate methods are whole-organism, in vivo assays that use high-throughput, phenotypic readouts and hosts that range from Caenorhabditis elegans to Danio rerio. These hosts have several powerful advantages, including dramatic reductions in false positive hits, as compounds that are toxic to the host and/or biounavailable are typically dropped in the initial screen, prior to costly follow up.
Here we show how our assay has been used to interrogate host variation in the well-documented C. elegans&#8212;Pseudomonas aeruginosa liquid killing pathosystem. We also demonstrate several extensions of this well-worked out technique. For example, we are able to carry out high-throughput genetic screens using RNAi in 24- or 96-well plate formats to query host factors in this host-pathogen interaction. Using this assay, whole genome screens can be completed in only a few months, which can dramatically simplify the task of identifying drug targets, potentially without the need for laborious biochemical purification approaches.
We also report here a variation of our method that substitutes the gram-positive bacterium Enterococcus faecalis for the gram-negative pathogen P. aeruginosa. Much as is the case for P. aeruginosa, killing by E. faecalis is time-dependent. Unlike previous C. elegans&#8212;E. faecalis assays, our assay for E. faecalis does not require preinfection, improving its safety profile and reducing the chances of contaminating liquid-handling equipment. The assay is highly robust, showing ~95% death rates 96 h post infection.

A High-throughput, High-content, Liquid-based C. elegans Pathosystem

Here we describe a protocol that is an adaptable, whole host, high-content screening tool that can be utilized to study host-pathogen interactions and be used for drug discovery.

The number of new drugs identified by traditional, in vitro screens has waned, reducing the success of this approach in the search for new weapons to ...

Using the Protozoan Paramecium caudatum as a Vehicle for Food-borne Infections in Zebrafish Larvae

Due to their transparency, genetic tractability, and ease of maintenance, zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become a widely-used vertebrate model for infectious diseases. Larval zebrafish naturally prey on the unicellular protozoan Paramecium caudatum. This protocol describes the use of P. caudatum as a vehicle for food-borne infection in larval zebrafish. P. caudatum internalize a wide range of bacteria and bacterial cells remain viable for several hours. Zebrafish then prey on P. caudatum, the bacterial load is released in the foregut upon digestion of the paramecium&#160;vehicle, and the bacteria colonize the intestinal tract. The protocol includes a detailed description of paramecia maintenance, loading with bacteria, determination of bacterial degradation and dose, as well as infection of zebrafish by feeding with paramecia. The advantage of using this method of food-borne infection is that it closely mimics the mode of infection observed in human disease, leads to more robust colonization compared to immersion protocols, and allows the study of a wide range of pathogens. Food-borne infection in the zebrafish model can be used to investigate bacterial gene expression within the host, host-pathogen interactions, and hallmarks of pathogenicity including bacterial burden, localization, dissemination and morbidity.

Using the Protozoan Paramecium caudatum as a Vehicle for Food-borne Infections in Zebrafish Larvae

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are becoming a widely-used vertebrate animal model for microbial colonization and pathogenesis. This protocol describes the use of the protozoan Paramecium caudatum as a vehicle for food-borne infection in zebrafish larvae. P. caudatum readily internalizes bacteria and get taken up by larval zebrafish through natural preying behavior.

Due to their transparency, genetic tractability, and ease of maintenance, zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become a widely-used vertebrate model for ...

Chronic Salmonella Infection Induced Intestinal Fibrosis

Tissue fibrosis characterized by the pathological accumulation of extracellular matrix such as collagen is the outcome of persistent inflammation and dysregulated repair. In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), fibrosis leads to recurrent stricture formations for which there is no effective therapy other than surgical resection. Due to its late onset, the processes that drive fibrosis is less studied and largely unknown. Therefore, fibrotic complications represent a major challenge in IBD. In this protocol, a robust in vivo model of intestinal fibrosis is described where streptomycin pre-treatment of C57Bl/6 mice followed by oral gavage with vaccine grade Salmonella Typhimurium &#916;AroA mutant leads to persistent pathogen colonization and fibrosis of the cecum. Methodologies for preparing S. Typhimurium &#916;AroA for inoculation, quantifying pathogen loads in the cecum and spleen, and evaluating collagen deposition in intestinal tissues are explained. This experimental disease model is useful for examining host factors that either enhance or exacerbate CD-like intestinal fibrosis.

This protocol describes a mouse model of Salmonella driven intestinal fibrosis that resembles key pathological hallmarks of Crohn&#8217;s disease including transmural inflammation and fibrosis. This method can be used to evaluate host factors that alter fibrotic outcomes using mutant mice maintained on a C57Bl/6 genetic background.

Tissue fibrosis characterized by the pathological accumulation of extracellular matrix such as collagen is the outcome of persistent inflammation and ...

Studying Inherited Immunity in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model of Microsporidia Infection

Inherited immunity describes how some animals can pass on the "memory" of a previous infection to their offspring. This can boost pathogen resistance in their progeny and promote survival. While inherited immunity has been reported in many invertebrates, the mechanisms underlying this epigenetic phenomenon are largely unknown. The infection of Caenorhabditis elegans by the natural microsporidian pathogen Nematocida parisii results in the worms producing offspring that are robustly resistant to microsporidia. The present protocol describes the study of intergenerational immunity in the simple and genetically tractable N. parisii -C. elegans infection model. The current article describes methods for infecting C. elegans and generating immune-primed offspring. Methods are also given for assaying resistance to microsporidia infection by staining for microsporidia and visualizing infection by microscopy. In particular, inherited immunity prevents host cell invasion by microsporidia, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) can be used to quantify invasion events. The relative amount of microsporidia spores produced in the immune-primed offspring can be quantified by staining the spores with a chitin-binding dye. To date, these methods have shed light on the kinetics and pathogen specificity of inherited immunity, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying it. These techniques, alongside the extensive tools available for C. elegans research, will enable important discoveries in the field of inherited immunity.

Studying Inherited Immunity in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model of Microsporidia Infection

The infection of Caenorhabditis elegans by the microsporidian parasite Nematocida parisii enables the worms to produce offspring that are highly resistant to the same pathogen. This is an example of inherited immunity, a poorly understood epigenetic phenomenon. The present protocol describes the study of inherited immunity in a genetically tractable worm&#160;model.

Inherited immunity describes how some animals can pass on the "memory" of a previous infection to their offspring. This can boost pathogen resistance in ...

Characterizing Salmonella Typhimurium-induced Septic Peritonitis in Mice

Sepsis is a dysregulated host immune response to microbial invasion or tissue damage, leading to organ injury at a site distant from that of the infection or damage. Currently, the widely used mice models of sepsis include lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and monobacterial infection model systems. This protocol describes a method to study the host responses during Salmonella Typhimurium infection-induced septic peritonitis in mice. S. Typhimurium, a Gram-negative intracellular pathogen, causes typhoid-like disease in mice.
This protocol elaborates the culture preparation, induction of septic peritonitis in mice through intraperitoneal injection, and methods to study systemic host responses. Furthermore, the assessment of bacterial burden in different organs and the flow cytometric analysis of increased neutrophil numbers in the peritoneal lavage is presented. Salmonella Typhimurium-induced sepsis in mice leads to an increase in proinflammatory cytokines and rapid infiltration of neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity, leading to lower survival.
Every step in this protocol has been optimized, resulting in high reproducibility of the pathogenesis of septic peritonitis. This model is useful for studying immunological responses during bacterial sepsis, the roles of different genes in disease progression, and the effects of drugs to attenuate sepsis.

Characterizing Salmonella Typhimurium-induced Septic Peritonitis in Mice

This protocol describes the induction of Gram-negative monobacterial sepsis in a mouse model system. The model is useful in investigating the inflammatory and lethal host responses during sepsis.

Sepsis is a dysregulated host immune response to microbial invasion or tissue damage, leading to organ injury at a site distant from that of the infection ...

Automating Aggregate Quantification in Caenorhabditis elegans

A rise in the prevalence of neurodegenerative protein conformational diseases (PCDs) has fostered a great interest in this subject over the years. This increased attention has called for the diversification and improvement of animal models capable of reproducing disease phenotypes observed in humans with PCDs. Though murine models have proven invaluable, they are expensive and are associated with laborious, low-throughput methods. Use of the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode model to study PCDs has been justified by its relative ease of maintenance, low cost, and rapid generation time, which allow for high-throughput applications. Additionally, high conservation between the C. elegans and human genomes makes this model an invaluable discovery tool. Nematodes that express fluorescently tagged tissue-specific polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts exhibit age- and polyQ length-dependent aggregation characterized by fluorescent foci. Such reporters are often employed as proxies to monitor changes in proteostasis across tissues. Manual aggregate quantification is time-consuming, limiting experimental throughput. Furthermore, manual foci quantification can introduce bias, as aggregate identification can be highly subjective. Herein, a protocol consisting of worm culturing, image acquisition, and data processing was standardized to support high-throughput aggregate quantification using C. elegans that express intestine-specific polyQ. By implementing a C. elegans-based image processing pipeline using CellProfiler, an image analysis software, this method has been optimized to separate and identify individual worms and enumerate their respective aggregates. Though the concept of automation is not entirely unique, the need to standardize such procedures for reproducibility, elimination of bias from manual counting, and increase throughput is high. It is anticipated that these methods can drastically simplify the screening process of large bacterial, genomic, or drug libraries using the C. elegans model.

Automating Aggregate Quantification in Caenorhabditis elegans

The following protocol describes the development and optimization of a high-throughput workflow for worm culturing, fluorescence imaging, and automated image processing to quantify polyglutamine aggregates as an assessment of changes in proteostasis.

A rise in the prevalence of neurodegenerative protein conformational diseases (PCDs) has fostered a great interest in this subject over the years. This ...

Biology

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 ...

A Protocol to Infect Caenorhabditis elegans with Salmonella typhimurium

Summary

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Chapters in this video

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions

Automated Separation of C. elegans Variably Colonized by a Bacterial Pathogen

High-throughput Assay to Phenotype Salmonella enterica Typhimurium Association, Invasion, and Replication in Macrophages

A High-throughput, High-content, Liquid-based C. elegans Pathosystem

Using the Protozoan Paramecium caudatum as a Vehicle for Food-borne Infections in Zebrafish Larvae

Chronic Salmonella Infection Induced Intestinal Fibrosis

Studying Inherited Immunity in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model of Microsporidia Infection

Characterizing Salmonella Typhimurium-induced Septic Peritonitis in Mice

Automating Aggregate Quantification in Caenorhabditis elegans

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