ArticlePloS one2021
A three-dimensional habitat for C. elegans environmental enrichment.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- The impact of rearing environment on C. elegans: phenotypic, transcriptomic and intergenerational responses to 3D enriched habitats.Biology open · 2026Article
- Efficient pheromone navigation via antagonistic detectors in Caenorhabditis elegans male.Nature communications · 2026Article
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- Nictation behavior in nematodes.BMC biology · 2025Review
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- The impact of rearing environment onbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- C. elegans foraging as a model for understanding the neuronal basis of decision-making.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Review
- Fantastic beasts and how to study them: rethinking experimental animal behavior.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- A simple protocol for cultivating the bacterivorous soil nematodeFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Evolutionarily conserved behavioral plasticity enables context-dependent mating in C. elegans.Current biology : CB · 2023Article
- SAMPL is a high-throughput solution to study unconstrained vertical behavior in small animals.Cell reports · 2023Article
- A high-throughput sensory assay for parasitic and free-living nematodes.Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro · 2023Article
- Scalable Apparatus to Measure Posture and Locomotion (SAMPL): a high-throughput solution to study unconstrained vertical behavior in small animals.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- The role of food odor in invertebrate foraging.Genes, brain, and behavior · 2022Review
- Combining Animal Welfare With Experimental Rigor to Improve Reproducibility in Behavioral Neuroscience.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2021Review
- Deficient mechanosensation inmicroPublication biology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
As we learn more about the importance of gene-environment interactions and the effects of environmental enrichment, it becomes evident that minimalistic laboratory conditions can affect gene expression patterns and behaviors of model organisms. In the laboratory, Caenorhabditis elegans is generally cultured on two-dimensional, homogeneous agar plates abundantly covered with axenic bacteria culture as a food source. However, in the wild, this nematode thrives in rotting fruits and plant stems feeding on bacteria and small eukaryotes. This contrast in habitat complexity suggests that studying C. elegans in enriched laboratory conditions can deepen our understanding of its fundamental traits and behaviors. Here, we developed a protocol to create three-dimensional habitable scaffolds for trans-generational culture of C. elegans in the laboratory. Using decellularization and sterilization of fruit tissue, we created an axenic environment that can be navigated throughout and where the microbial environment can be strictly controlled. C. elegans were maintained over generations on this habitat, and showed a clear behavioral bias for the enriched environment. As an initial assessment of behavioral variations, we found that dauer populations in scaffolds exhibit high-frequency, complex nictation behavior including group towering and jumping behavior.
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