Preliminary Findings
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Effect of Age on Pharyngeal Pumping in C. elegans, using the ScreenChip System
In C. elegans, a key marker of age-related decline in health is a reduction in the rate of pharyngeal pumping. Until now, it has been necessary to count pumps by eye, which is laborious, slow, and often inaccurate. The NemaMetrix ScreenChip System automates the process of counting pumps by recording their electrical signature, called the electropharyngeogram (EPG). Here we show that the age-related decline in pumping is recapitulated when pumps are counted in electrical recordings.
Short Term Stationarity: Effect on Pumping Frequency of Positioning Worms in the ScreenChip
Q: After I position a worm in the ScreenChip, should I start recording right away or wait a while? BACKGROUND Mechanical stimulation can temporarily reduce pumping frequency in C. elegans (1). Positioning a worm in the ScreenChip between the recording electrodes applies gentle pressure to the worm’s body, which might likewise influence pumping. We investigated […]
Microfluidic electropharyngeograms confirm and extend the phenotypic analysis of glutamate neurotransmission mutants in C. elegans
Shawn Lockery, Ph.D. | This technical note demonstrates that the ScreenChip System can reproduce the expected effects of pumping mutants in which glutamate transmission is disrupted. It also illustrates new mechanistic insights the system can provide.
E. coli-induced pharyngeal pumping in C. elegans
Kathleen Conery | Pharyngeal pumping behavior in C. elegans is employed to ingest bacteria, the worms’ normal food. Under laboratory conditions, C. elegans are reared on agar plates seeded with the E. coli strain OP50, which stimulates feeding behavior. Accordingly, we tested the ability of OP50 treatment to elicit pharyngeal pumping, using the ScreenChip system.
