Longitudinal imaging of caenorhabditis elegans in a microfabricated device reveals variation in behavioral decline during aging

Matthew A. Churgin, Sang Kyu Jung, Chih Chieh Yu, Xiangmei Chen, David M. Raizen, Christopher Fang-Yen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    113 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The roundworm C. elegans is a mainstay of aging research due to its short lifespan and easily manipulable genetics. Current, widely used methods for long-term measurement of C. elegans are limited by low throughput and the difficulty of performing longitudinal monitoring of aging phenotypes. Here we describe the WorMotel, a microfabricated device for long-term cultivation and automated longitudinal imaging of large numbers of C. elegans confined to individual wells. Using the WorMotel, we find that short-lived and long-lived strains exhibit patterns of behavioral decline that do not temporally scale between individuals or populations, but rather resemble the shortest and longest lived individuals in a wild type population. We also find that behavioral trajectories of worms subject to oxidative stress resemble trajectories observed during aging. Our method is a powerful and scalable tool for analysis of C. elegans behavior and aging.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbere26652
    JournaleLife
    Volume6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017 May 24

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © Churgin et al.

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Neuroscience
    • General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
    • General Immunology and Microbiology

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Longitudinal imaging of caenorhabditis elegans in a microfabricated device reveals variation in behavioral decline during aging'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this