ArticleScientific reports2019
Pluronic gel-based burrowing assay for rapid assessment of neuromuscular health in C. elegans.
Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Linear Z-line-like alignment of capping protein in obliquely striated muscle of the nematodeMolecular biology of the cell · 2026Article
- Efficient pheromone navigation via antagonistic detectors in Caenorhabditis elegans male.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Multiscale characterization ofiScience · 2025Article
- Grand challenges for burrowing soft robots.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Review
- FHOD-1 and profilin protect sarcomeres against contraction-induced deformation> inMolecular biology of the cell · 2024Article
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- FHOD-1/profilin-mediated actin assembly protects sarcomeres against contraction-induced deformation inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Reducing the metabolic burden of rRNA synthesis promotes healthy longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans.Nature communications · 2024Article
- azyx-1 is a new gene that overlaps with zyxin and affects its translation in C. elegans, impacting muscular integrity and locomotion.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- A high-throughput sensory assay for parasitic and free-living nematodes.Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro · 2023Article
- Protein import motor complex reacts to mitochondrial misfolding by reducing protein import and activating mitophagy.Nature communications · 2022Article
- Investigating the correlation of muscle function tests and sarcomere organization in C. elegans.Skeletal muscle · 2021Article
- Alcohol induces mitochondrial fragmentation and stress responses to maintain normal muscle function in Caenorhabditis elegans.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2020Article
- Swim exercise inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Discriminating between sleep and exercise-induced fatigue using computer vision and behavioral genetics.Journal of neurogeneticsArticle
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
Whole-organism phenotypic assays are central to the assessment of neuromuscular function and health in model organisms such as the nematode C. elegans. In this study, we report a new assay format for engaging C. elegans in burrowing that enables rapid assessment of nematode neuromuscular health. In contrast to agar environments that pose specific drawbacks for characterization of C. elegans burrowing ability, here we use the optically transparent and biocompatible Pluronic F-127 gel that transitions from liquid to gel at room temperature, enabling convenient and safe handling of animals. The burrowing assay methodology involves loading animals at the bottom of well plates, casting a liquid-phase of Pluronic on top that solidifies via a modest temperature upshift, enticing animals to reach the surface via chemotaxis to food, and quantifying the relative success animals have in reaching the chemoattractant. We study the influence of Pluronic concentration, gel height and chemoattractant choice to optimize assay performance. To demonstrate the simplicity of the assay workflow and versatility, we show its novel application in multiple areas including (i) evaluating muscle mutants with defects in dense bodies and/or M-lines (pfn-3, atn-1, uig-1, dyc-1, zyx-1, unc-95 and tln-1), (ii) tuning assay conditions to reveal changes in the mutant gei-8, (iii) sorting of fast burrowers in a genetically-uniform wild-type population for later quantitation of their distinct muscle gene expression, and (iv) testing proteotoxic animal models of Huntington and Parkinson's disease. Results from our studies show that stimulating animals to navigate in a dense environment that offers mechanical resistance to three-dimensional locomotion challenges the neuromuscular system in a manner distinct from standard crawling and thrashing assays. Our simple and high throughput burrowing assay can provide insight into molecular mechanisms for maintenance of neuromuscular health and facilitate screening for therapeutic targets.
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