scholarly journals Microfluidic Device for Microinjection of Caenorhabditis elegans

Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 295
Author(s):  
Reza Ghaemi ◽  
Justin Tong ◽  
Bhagwati P. Gupta ◽  
P. Ravi Selvaganapathy
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Reliable Method ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Alignment Procedure ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Needle Penetration ◽  
Skilled Operator ◽  
Mobile Animal ◽  
Fast Mechanism ◽  
Germ Line Transformation

Microinjection is an established and reliable method to deliver transgenic constructs and other reagents to specific locations in C. elegans worms. Specifically, microinjection of a desired DNA construct into the distal gonad is the most widely used method to generate germ-line transformation of C. elegans. Although, current C. elegans microinjection method is effective to produce transgenic worms, it requires expensive multi degree of freedom (DOF) micromanipulator, careful injection alignment procedure and skilled operator, all of which make it slow and not suitable for scaling to high throughput. A few microfabricated microinjectors have been developed recently to address these issues. However, none of them are capable of immobilizing a freely mobile animal such as C. elegans worm using a passive immobilization mechanism. Here, a microfluidic microinjector was developed to passively immobilize a freely mobile animal such as C. elegans and simultaneously perform microinjection by using a simple and fast mechanism for needle actuation. The entire process of the microinjection takes ~30 s which includes 10 s for worm loading and aligning, 5 s needle penetration, 5 s reagent injection and 5 s worm unloading. The device is suitable for high-throughput and can be potentially used for creating transgenic C. elegans.

scholarly journals Reevaluation of whether a soma–to–germ-line transformation extends lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (13) ◽  
pp. 3591-3596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kekūpa'a Knutson ◽  
Andreas Rechtsteiner ◽  
Susan Strome
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
Simultaneous Removal ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
P Granules ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Granule Proteins ◽  
Germ Line Transformation

The germ lineage is considered to be immortal. In the quest to extend lifespan, a possible strategy is to drive germ-line traits in somatic cells, to try to confer some of the germ lineage’s immortality on the somatic body. Notably, a study in Caenorhabditis elegans suggested that expression of germ-line genes in the somatic cells of long-lived daf-2 mutants confers some of daf-2’s long lifespan. Specifically, mRNAs encoding components of C. elegans germ granules (P granules) were up-regulated in daf-2 mutant worms, and knockdown of individual P-granule and other germ-line genes in daf-2 young adults modestly reduced their lifespan. We investigated the contribution of a germ-line program to daf-2’s long lifespan and also tested whether other mutants known to express germ-line genes in their somatic cells are long-lived. Our key findings are as follows. (i) We could not detect P-granule proteins in the somatic cells of daf-2 mutants by immunostaining or by expression of a P-granule transgene. (ii) Whole-genome transcript profiling of animals lacking a germ line revealed that germ-line transcripts are not up-regulated in the soma of daf-2 worms compared with the soma of control worms. (iii) Simultaneous removal of multiple P-granule proteins or the entire germ-line program from daf-2 worms did not reduce their lifespan. (iv) Several mutants that robustly express a broad spectrum of germ-line genes in their somatic cells are not long-lived. Together, our findings argue against the hypothesis that acquisition of a germ-cell program in somatic cells increases lifespan and contributes to daf-2’s long lifespan.

scholarly journals Evolution of Sex Determination in Caenorhabditis: Unusually High Divergence of tra-1 and Its Functional Consequences

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 587-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario de Bono ◽  
Jonathan Hodgkin
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Amino Acid Identity ◽  
Evolution Of Sex ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Functional Studies ◽  
Somatic Gonad ◽  
Functional Consequences ◽  
Significant Divergence

Abstract The tra-1 gene is a terminal regulator of somatic sex in Caenorhabditis elegans: high tra-1 activity elicits female development, low tra-1 activity elicits male development. To investigate the function and evolution of tra-1, we examined the tra-1 gene from the closely related nematode C. briggsae. Ce-tra-1 and Cb-tra-1 are unusually divergent. Each gene generates two transcripts, but only one of these is present in both species. This common transcript encodes TRA-1A, which shows only 44% amino acid identity between the species, a figure much lower than that for previously compared genes. A Cb-tra-1 transgene rescues many tissues of tra-1(nul1) mutants of C. elegans but not the somatic gonad or germ line. This transgene also causes nongonadal feminization of XO animals, indicating incorrect sexual regulation. Alignment of Ce-TRA-1A and Cb-TRA-1A defines several conserved regions likely to be important for tra-1 function. The phenotypic differences between Ce-tra-1(null) mutants rescued by Cb-tra-1 transgenes and wild-type C. elegans indicate significant divergence of regulatory regions. These molecular and functional studies suggest that evolution of sex determination in nematodes is rapid and genetically complex.

scholarly journals Control of Vulval Competence and Centering in the Nematode Oscheius sp. 1 CEW1

Genetics ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Louvet-Vallée ◽  
Irina Kolotuev ◽  
Benjamin Podbilewicz ◽  
Marie-Anne Félix
Keyword(s):  
Germ Line ◽  
Specific Mechanism ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Group 4 ◽  
Cell Ablation ◽  
Group 3 ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
P Cells ◽  
Large Category ◽  
Group 1

Abstract To compare vulva development mechanisms in the nematode Oscheius sp. 1 to those known in Caenorhabditis elegans, we performed a genetic screen for vulva mutants in Oscheius sp. 1 CEW1. Here we present one large category of mutations that we call cov, which affect the specification of the Pn.p ventral epidermal cells along the antero-posterior axis. The Pn.p cells are numbered from 1 to 12 from anterior to posterior. In wild-type Oscheius sp. 1 CEW1, the P(4-8).p cells are competent to form the vulva and the progeny of P(5-7).p actually form the vulva, with the descendants of P6.p adopting a central vulval fate. Among the 17 mutations (defining 13 genes) that we characterize here, group 1 mutations completely or partially abolish P(4-8).p competence, and this correlates with early fusion of the Pn.p cells to the epidermal syncytium. In this group, we found a putative null mutation in the lin-39 HOM-C homolog, the associated phenotype of which could be weakly mimicked by injection of a morpholino against Osp1-lin-39 in the mother’s germ line. Using cell ablation in a partially penetrant competence mutant, we show that vulval competence is partially controlled by a gonadal signal. Most other mutants found in the screen display phenotypes unknown in C. elegans. Group 2 mutants show a partial penetrance of Pn.p competence loss and an abnormal centering of the vulva on P5.p, suggesting that these two processes are coregulated by the same pathway in Oscheius sp. 1. Group 3 mutants display an enlarged competence group that includes P3.p, thus demonstrating the existence of a specific mechanism inhibiting P3.p competence. Group 4 mutants display an abnormal centering of the vulval pattern on P7.p and suggest that a specific mechanism centers the vulval pattern on a single Pn.p cell.

scholarly journals glp-3 Is Required for Mitosis and Meiosis in the Caenorhabditis elegans Germ Line

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C Kadyk ◽  
Eric J Lambie ◽  
Judith Kimble
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Dapi Staining ◽  
Cell Cycles ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Mitosis And Meiosis

The germ line is the only tissue in Caenorhabditis elegans in which a stem cell population continues to divide mitotically throughout life; hence the cell cycles of the germ line and the soma are regulated differently. Here we report the genetic and phenotypic characterization of the glp-3 gene. In animals homozygous for each of five recessive loss-of-function alleles, germ cells in both hermaphrodites and males fail to progress through mitosis and meiosis, but somatic cells appear to divide normally. Germ cells in animals grown at 15° appear by DAPI staining to be uniformly arrested at the G2/M transition with <20 germ cells per gonad on average, suggesting a checkpoint-mediated arrest. In contrast, germ cells in mutant animals grown at 25° frequently proliferate slowly during adulthood, eventually forming small germ lines with several hundred germ cells. Nevertheless, cells in these small germ lines never undergo meiosis. Double mutant analysis with mutations in other genes affecting germ cell proliferation supports the idea that glp-3 may encode a gene product that is required for the mitotic and meiotic cell cycles in the C. elegans germ line.

Germ-line transformation and RNAi of the ladybird beetle, Harmonia axyridis

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kuwayama ◽  
T. Yaginuma ◽  
O. Yamashita ◽  
T. Niimi
Keyword(s):  
Harmonia Axyridis ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Ladybird Beetle ◽  
Germ Line Transformation

scholarly journals High-throughput behavioral screen in C. elegans reveals Parkinson’s disease drug candidates

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salman Sohrabi ◽  
Danielle E. Mor ◽  
Rachel Kaletsky ◽  
William Keyes ◽  
Coleen T. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
Automated Scoring ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
Branched Chain ◽  
Approved Drugs

AbstractWe recently linked branched-chain amino acid transferase 1 (BCAT1) dysfunction with the movement disorder Parkinson’s disease (PD), and found that RNAi-mediated knockdown of neuronal bcat-1 in C. elegans causes abnormal spasm-like ‘curling’ behavior with age. Here we report the development of a machine learning-based workflow and its application to the discovery of potentially new therapeutics for PD. In addition to simplifying quantification and maintaining a low data overhead, our simple segment-train-quantify platform enables fully automated scoring of image stills upon training of a convolutional neural network. We have trained a highly reliable neural network for the detection and classification of worm postures in order to carry out high-throughput curling analysis without the need for user intervention or post-inspection. In a proof-of-concept screen of 50 FDA-approved drugs, enasidenib, ethosuximide, metformin, and nitisinone were identified as candidates for potential late-in-life intervention in PD. These findings point to the utility of our high-throughput platform for automated scoring of worm postures and in particular, the discovery of potential candidate treatments for PD.

scholarly journals P granules extend the nuclear pore complex environment in the C. elegans germ line

2011 ◽  
Vol 192 (6) ◽  
pp. 939-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin L. Updike ◽  
Stephanie J. Hachey ◽  
Jeremy Kreher ◽  
Susan Strome
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Pore Complex ◽  
Germ Plasm ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Hydrophobic Interactions ◽  
Nuclear Periphery ◽  
Size Exclusion ◽  
Nuclear Pore ◽  
Complex Environment ◽  
P Granules ◽  
C Elegans

The immortal and totipotent properties of the germ line depend on determinants within the germ plasm. A common characteristic of germ plasm across phyla is the presence of germ granules, including P granules in Caenorhabditis elegans, which are typically associated with the nuclear periphery. In C. elegans, nuclear pore complex (NPC)–like FG repeat domains are found in the VASA-related P-granule proteins GLH-1, GLH-2, and GLH-4 and other P-granule components. We demonstrate that P granules, like NPCs, are held together by weak hydrophobic interactions and establish a size-exclusion barrier. Our analysis of intestine-expressed proteins revealed that GLH-1 and its FG domain are not sufficient to form granules, but require factors like PGL-1 to nucleate the localized concentration of GLH proteins. GLH-1 is necessary but not sufficient for the perinuclear location of granules in the intestine. Our results suggest that P granules extend the NPC environment in the germ line and provide insights into the roles of the PGL and GLH family proteins.

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