C. elegans phenotyping, compound screening and toxicological assessment
The NemaMetrix ScreenChip system was developed for C. elegans, which is but one of the estimated 1 million members of the highly diverse phylum, Nematoda. To demonstrate the utility of microfluidic EPG recordings from species beyond C. elegans, we adapted the platform to record from several human and animal gastrointestinal parasites, male and female members of a dioecious nematode species, and a carnivorous nematode.
The heavy metal, copper (Cu2+), is toxic to humans and C. elegans. We used the ScreenChip system to detect Cu2+ in aqueous samples at concentrations (≤10 mg/L) within the range found in contaminated home water supplies. EPG recordings provide a powerful new tool for C. elegans toxicology research.
The NemaMetrix ScreenChip System is a microfluidics platform for recording electropharyngeograms (EPGs) from the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and other nematode species. This technical note demonstrates the utility of the ScreenChip system in pharmacology, taking as an example compounds chemically related to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana (Cannabis sativa).
Humans have over 70 potassium channel genes, but only some of these have been linked to disease. In this respect, the KCNQ family of potassium channels is exceptional: mutations in four out of five KCNQ genes underlie diseases including cardiac arrhythmias, deafness, and epilepsy. In this technical note, we investigated the effect of mutations of orthologous KCNQ-like genes in the nematode C. elegans on electrical excitability using the NemaMetrix ScreenChip System.
Microfluidic EPG Recordings Show Striking Pharyngeal Pumping Phenotype in a C. elegans Alzheimer’s Disease Model – Preliminary Findings
Preliminary Findings
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.
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 […]
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.
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.
