Name: application of flow vermimetry for quantification and analysis of the caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiome
Uploaded: 2023-03-31T14:20:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Application of Flow Vermimetry for Quantification and Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Gut Microbiome at JoVE.com

This work was supported by NIH grants DP2DK116645 (to B.S.S.), Dunn Foundation pilot award and NASA grant 80NSSC22K0250 (to B.S.S.). This project was also supported by the Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core at Baylor College of Medicine with funding from the CPRIT Core Facility Support Award (CPRIT-RP180672), the NIH (S10 OD025251, CA125123, and RR024574), and the assistance of Joel M. Sederstrom, plus an instrumentation grant for the LPS NIH grant (S10 OD025251). Some strains were provided by the CGC, which is funded by NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440).

1. Preparation of microbiome mixture
<ol>
	<li>Stamp or streak out bacteria from a glycerol freezer stock onto a lysogeny broth (LB) plate, or appropriate growth medium, and grow overnight at an optimal temperature based on bacterial strains of interest (typically 25 &#176;C for C. elegans natural microbes).</li>
	<li>From the LB plate, use a single colony from each bacterial isolate (e.g., 12 bacteria of the CeMbio collection) to inoculate 800 &#181;L of LB medium in separate wells of a 1 mL ...

<ol>
	<li>McFall-Ngai, 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=Animals+in+a+bacterial+world,+a+new+imperative+for+the+life+sciences.">Animals in a bacterial world, a new imperative for the life sciences.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110 (9), 3229-3236 (2013).</li><li>Seedorf, H., 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=Bacteria+from+diverse+habitats+colonize+and+compete+in+the+mouse+gut.">Bacteria from diverse habitats colonize and compete in the mouse gut.</a> Cell. 159 (2), 253-266 (2014).</li><li>B&#228;ckhed, F., 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+gut+microbiota+as+an+environmental+factor+that+regulates+fat+storage.">The gut microbiota as an environmental factor that regulates fat storage.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101 (44), 15718-15723 (2004).</li><li>Turnbaugh, P. J., 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=An+obesity-associated+gut+microbiome+with+increased+capacity+for+energy+harvest.">An obesity-associated gut microbiome with increased capacity for energy harvest.</a> Nature. 444 (7122), 1027-1031 (2006).</li><li>Gill, S. 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=Metagenomic+analysis+of+the+human+distal+gut+microbiome.">Metagenomic analysis of the human distal gut microbiome.</a> Science. 312 (5778), 1355-1359 (2006).</li><li>Bargmann, C. I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Chemosensation+in+C.+elegans.">Chemosensation in C. elegans.</a> WormBook: The Online Review of C. elegans Biology. , 1-29 (2006).</li><li>Couillault, 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=TLR-independent+control+of+innate+immunity+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans.+by+the+TIR+domain+adaptor+protein+TIR-1,+an+ortholog+of+human+SARM.">TLR-independent control of innate immunity in Caenorhabditis elegans. by the TIR domain adaptor protein TIR-1, an ortholog of human SARM.</a> Nature Immunology. 5 (5), 488-494 (2004).</li><li>Kim, D. H., 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+conserved+p38+MAP+kinase+pathway+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans+innate+immunity.">A conserved p38 MAP kinase pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans innate immunity.</a> Science. 297 (5581), 623-626 (2002).</li><li>Berg, 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=TGF&#946;/BMP+immune+signaling+affects+abundance+and+function+of+C.+elegans+gut+commensals.">TGF&#946;/BMP immune signaling affects abundance and function of C. elegans gut commensals.</a> Nature Communications. 10 (1), 1-12 (2019).</li><li>Garsin, D. 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=Long-lived+C.+elegansdaf-2+mutants+are+resistant+to+bacterial+pathogens.">Long-lived C. elegansdaf-2 mutants are resistant to bacterial pathogens.</a> Science. 300 (5627), 1921 (2003).</li><li>Cabreiro, F., Gems, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Worms+need+microbes+too:+microbiota,+health+and+aging+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">Worms need microbes too: microbiota, health and aging in Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> EMBO Molecular Medicine. 5 (9), 1300-1310 (2013).</li><li>Samuel, B. S., Rowedder, H., Braendle, C., F&#233;lix, M. -. A., Ruvkun, G. <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+responses+to+bacteria+from+its+natural+habitats.">Caenorhabditis elegans responses to bacteria from its natural habitats.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (27), 3941-3949 (2016).</li><li>Dirksen, P., 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+native+microbiome+of+the+nematode+Caenorhabditis+elegans:+gateway+to+a+new+host-microbiome+model.">The native microbiome of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: gateway to a new host-microbiome model.</a> BMC Biology. 14 (1), 38 (2016).</li><li>Berg, 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=Assembly+of+the+Caenorhabditis+elegans+gut+microbiota+from+diverse+soil+microbial+environments.">Assembly of the Caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiota from diverse soil microbial environments.</a> The ISME Journal. 10 (8), 1998-2009 (2016).</li><li>Zhang, F., 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=Caenorhabditis+elegans+as+a+model+for+microbiome+research.">Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for microbiome research.</a> Frontiers in Microbiology. 8, 485 (2017).</li><li>Zhang, F., 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=Natural+genetic+variation+drives+microbiome+selection+in+the+Caenorhabditis+elegans+gut.">Natural genetic variation drives microbiome selection in the Caenorhabditis elegans gut.</a> Current biology: CB. 31 (12), 2603-2618 (2021).</li><li>Dirksen, P., 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=CeMbio+-+The+Caenorhabditis+elegans+microbiome+resource.">CeMbio - The Caenorhabditis elegans microbiome resource.</a> G3. 10 (9), 3025-3039 (2020).</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>R Core. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Team+R:+A+language+and+environment+for+statistical+computing.">Team R: A language and environment for statistical computing.</a> R Core. , (2018).</li><li>Wickham, H., 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> tidyverse. , (2019).</li><li>Anderson, Q. L., Revtovich, A. V., Kirienko, N. V. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+high-throughput,+high-content,+liquid-based+C.+elegans+pathosystem.">A high-throughput, high-content, liquid-based C. elegans pathosystem.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (137), e58068 (2018).</li><li>Twumasi-Boateng, K., Berg, M., Shapira, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Automated+separation+of+C.+elegans+variably+colonized+by+a+bacterial+pathogen.">Automated separation of C. elegans variably colonized by a bacterial pathogen.</a> Journal of Visualized Experiments. (85), e51090 (2014).</li><li>Portal-Celhay, C., Bradley, E. R., Blaser, M. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Control+of+intestinal+bacterial+proliferation+in+regulation+of+lifespan+in+Caenorhabditis+elegans.">Control of intestinal bacterial proliferation in regulation of lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans.</a> BMC Microbiology. 12 (1), 49 (2012).</li><li>Zhang, F., 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=High-Throughput+assessment+of+changes+in+the+Caenorhabditis+elegans+gut+microbiome.">High-Throughput assessment of changes in the Caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiome.</a> Aging: Methods and Protocols. 144, 131-144 (2020).</li><li>Wiles, T. J., 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=Modernized+tools+for+streamlined+genetic+manipulation+and+comparative+study+of+wild+and+diverse+proteobacterial+lineages.">Modernized tools for streamlined genetic manipulation and comparative study of wild and diverse proteobacterial lineages.</a> mBio. 9 (5), 01877 (2018).</li><li>Ronda, C., Chen, S. P., Cabral, V., Yaung, S. J., Wang, H. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Metagenomic+engineering+of+the+mammalian+gut+microbiome+in+situ.">Metagenomic engineering of the mammalian gut microbiome in situ.</a> Nature Methods. 16 (2), 167-170 (2019).</li><li>Leonard, S. P., 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=Genetic+engineering+of+bee+gut+microbiome+bacteria+with+a+toolkit+for+modular+assembly+of+broad-host-range+plasmids.">Genetic engineering of bee gut microbiome bacteria with a toolkit for modular assembly of broad-host-range plasmids.</a> ACS Synthetic Biology. 7 (5), 1279-1290 (2018).</li><li>Kutscher, L. M., 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=Forward+and+reverse+mutagenesis+in+C.+elegans.">Forward and reverse mutagenesis in C. elegans.</a> WormBook: The Online Review of C. elegans Biology. , 1-26 (2014).</li><li>Mok, C. 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=MIP-MAP:+High-Throughput+mapping+of+Caenorhabditis+elegans+temperature-sensitive+mutants+via+molecular+inversion+probes.">MIP-MAP: High-Throughput mapping of Caenorhabditis elegans temperature-sensitive mutants via molecular inversion probes.</a> Genetics. 207 (2), 447-463 (2017).</li></ol>

Flow vermimetry has been used to characterize C. elegans genes and pathways against pathogen colonization and toxicity in several studies21,22. Here, a high throughput amenable approach is presented that uses C. elegans to investigate how intestinal microbiomes modulate their host physiology. Compared to existing methods using colony forming units (CFU) or 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing9,16</sup...

Animal evolution is under constant microbial influence1. From diverse microbes in the environment, animal hosts acquire specific partners2 that extend the capabilities of the host and drive its physiology and susceptibility to disease3. For example, metagenomic analyses of the gut microbiome uncovered enriched metabolic classes of microbial genes that may confer greater energy harvest and storage in obese mice4, many of which are also found in the human gut microbiome5. There is still a great need to establish causal relationships and pinpoint the molecular determinants of the microbiome impact, though progress has been hampered by the microbiome complexities and tractability of host systems to large-scale screening.
The model organism C. elegans provides a platform to advance molecular understanding of links between microbiome and host physiology. C. elegans possesses 20 intestinal cells with a mucosal layer and villi structures. These cells are equipped with abundant chemoreceptor genes that sense microbial products and produce antimicrobial molecules that potentially regulate their gut colonizers6,7. This conserved biology of C. elegans has led to a tremendous number of discoveries in host signaling that regulate gut microbes, including insulin signaling, TGF-beta, and MAP Kinase8,9,10.
C. elegans utilize microbes as both their diet for growth during development and microbiome as adults. With old age, some microbes may over-accumulate in the gut lumen and the host-microbe relationship shifts from symbiosis to pathogenesis11. In their natural habitats, C. elegans encounters a wide array of bacterial species12,13. Sequencing 16S rDNA from representative samples collected in natural habitats (rotten fruits, plant stem, and animal vectors) revealed that the natural microbiome of C. elegans is dominated by four bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Within these divisions lies great variation in the diversity and richness of bacteria based on the habitat12,13,14,15. Several defined communities have been established, including the 63-member (BIGbiome)16 and 12-member (CeMbio) collections representing the top microbiome genera created for the C. elegans research community17. Both microbiomes and component strains can have a diverse impact on the physiology of C. elegans such as body size, growth rates, and stress responses9,16,17. These studies provide resources and examples to establish C. elegans as a model for microbiome research.
Here a large particle sorter (LPS) based workflow (Figure 1) is presented that utilizes the C. elegans system to simultaneously measure microbiome composition and basic measures of host physiology at the population scale. From the microbial side, the workflow is adaptable to assemble a defined microbiome or single microbes to test the robustness and plasticity of the community with increasing microbial interactions. From the host side, the workflow enables high throughput assays to measure colonization levels of fluorescent microbes in the microbiome and host physiological readout in terms of development, body size, and reproduction. Taken together, the C. elegans microbiome model enables high throughput screens to pinpoint the metabolic and genetic determinants modulating host physiology.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>15 mL conical bottom centrifuge tubes</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>10026-076</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>96 deep-well plates (1 mL)</td>
			<td>Axygen</td>
			<td>P-DW-11-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>96 deep-well plates (2 mL)</td>
			<td>Axygen</td>
			<td>P-DW-20-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>96-well Costar plate</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>3694</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Agar</td>
			<td>Millipore Sigma</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Standard bacteriology agar is also sufficient.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Aspirating manifold</td>
			<td>V&#38;P scientific</td>
			<td>VP1171A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bleach</td>
			<td>Clorox</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bleach solution&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Mix Bleach with 5M Sodium hypochlorite 2:1 (v/v)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell Imaging Multimode Reader</td>
			<td>Biotek</td>
			<td>Cytation 5</td>
			<td>Bacterial OD measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge</td>
			<td>Thermo scientific&#160;</td>
			<td>Sorvall Legend XTR</td>
			<td>For 96 well plate and conical tubes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fluorescent Microscope</td>
			<td>Nikon</td>
			<td>TiE</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ggplot: Various R Programming Tools for Plotting Data.</td>
			<td>R package</td>
			<td>Version 3.3.2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Large Particle Autosampler</td>
			<td>Union Biometrica</td>
			<td>LP Sampler</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Large Particle Sorter</td>
			<td>Union Biometrica</td>
			<td>COPAS Biosorter</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Levamisole</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AC187870100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lysogeny Broth (LB)</td>
			<td>RPI</td>
			<td>L24066</td>
			<td>Standard LB home-made recipes using Bacto-tryptone, yeast extract, and NaCl are also sufficient.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>M9 solution&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>22 mM KH2PO4 monobasic, 42.3 mM Na2HPO4, 85.6 mM NaCl, 1 mM MgSO4</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nematode Growth Medium</td>
			<td>RPI</td>
			<td>N81800-1000.0</td>
			<td>1 mM CaCl2, 25 mM KPO4 pH 6.0, 1 mM MgSO4 added after autoclaving.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RStudio</td>
			<td>GNU</td>
			<td>Version 1.3.1093</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium hypochlorite</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>5M NaOH</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stereo Microscope</td>
			<td>Nikon</td>
			<td>SMZ745</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile 10 cm diameter petri dishes</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>351029</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile 12-well plates</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>10062-894</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile 24-well plates</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>10062-896</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sterile 6 cm diameter petri dishes</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>351007</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton X-100</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T8787</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

application of flow vermimetry for quantification and analysis of the caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiome

The composition of the gut microbiome can have a dramatic impact on host physiology throughout the development and the life of the animal. Measuring compositional changes in the microbiome is crucial in identifying the functional relationships between these physiological changes. Caenorhabditis elegans has emerged as a powerful host system to examine the molecular drivers of host-microbiome interactions. With its transparent body plan and fluorescent-tagged natural microbes, the relative levels of microbes within the gut microbiome of an individual C. elegans animal can be easily quantified using a large particle sorter. Here we describe the procedures for the experimental setup of a microbiome, collection, and analysis of C. elegans populations in the desired life stage, operation, and maintenance of the sorter, and statistical analyses of the resulting datasets. We also discuss considerations for optimizing sorter settings based on the microbes of interest, the development of effective gating strategies for C. elegans life stages, and how to utilize sorter capabilities to enrich animal populations based on gut microbiome composition. Examples of potential applications will be presented as part of the protocol, including the potential for scalability to high-throughput applications.

Defining adult and larvae population gates 
Here, synchronized C. elegans L1s were grown on an NGM plate seeded with E. coli OP50 (Eco), a standard laboratory diet. C. elegans populations were collected for LPS analysis after 96 h or 120 h of growth at 20 &#176;C (Figure 2A). A dot plot of extinction (EXT, a proxy of body density) versus time-of-flight (TOF, a proxy of body length) creates two visually separated clouds of animals. Each dot rep...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Application of Flow Vermimetry for Quantification and Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Gut Microbiome at JoVE.com

Application of Flow Vermimetry for Quantification and Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Gut Microbiome

Caenorhabditis elegans is a powerful model to examine the molecular determinants driving host-microbiome interactions. We present a high throughput pipeline profiling the single animal levels of gut microbiome colonization together with key aspects of the C. elegans physiology.

Application of Flow Vermimetry for Quantification and Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Gut Microbiome

The composition of the gut microbiome can have a dramatic impact on host physiology throughout the development and the life of the animal. Measuring ...

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans Life Span in 96 Well Microtiter Plates

Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans Life Span in 96 Well Microtiter Plates

Lifespan is a biological process regulated by several genetic pathways. One strategy to investigate the biology of aging is to study animals that harbor ...

Basic Caenorhabditis elegans Methods: Synchronization and Observation

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 ...

Prostaglandin Extraction and Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Prostaglandin Extraction and Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is emerging as a powerful animal model to study the biology of lipids1-9. Prostaglandins are an important class of eicosanoids, ...

Cultivation of Caenorhabditis elegans in Three Dimensions in the Laboratory

Cultivation of Caenorhabditis elegans in Three Dimensions in the Laboratory

The use of genetic model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans has led to seminal discoveries in biology over the last five decades. Most of what we ...

Quantification of Lipid Abundance and Evaluation of Lipid Distribution in Caenorhabditis elegans by Nile Red and Oil Red O Staining

Quantification of Lipid Abundance and Evaluation of Lipid Distribution in Caenorhabditis elegans by Nile Red and Oil Red O Staining

Caenorhabditis elegans is an exceptional model organism in which to study lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis. Many of its lipid genes are conserved ...

Purification and Analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans Extracellular Vesicles

Purification and Analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans Extracellular Vesicles

The secretion of small membrane-bound vesicles into the external environment is a fundamental physiological process of all cells. These extracellular ...

Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Screen for Tissue-Specific Chaperone Interactions

Using Caenorhabditis elegans to Screen for Tissue-Specific Chaperone Interactions

Correct folding and assembly of proteins and protein complexes are essential for cellular function. Cells employ quality control pathways that correct, ...

Automating Aggregate Quantification in Caenorhabditis elegans

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 ...

Isolation and Characterization of the Natural Microbiota of the Model Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Isolation and Characterization of the Natural Microbiota of the Model Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans interacts with a large diversity of microorganisms in nature. In general, C. elegans is commonly found in rotten plant ...

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline

During meiosis, homologous chromosomes must recognize and adhere to one another to allow for their correct segregation. One of the key events that secures ...