Title | A microfluidic device and automatic counting system for the study of C. elegans reproductive aging. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2015 |
Authors | Li, S, Stone, HA, Murphy, CT |
Journal | Lab Chip |
Volume | 15 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 524-31 |
Date Published | 2015 Jan 21 |
ISSN | 1473-0189 |
Keywords | Algorithms, Animals, Automation, Caenorhabditis elegans, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Longevity, Microfluidic Analytical Techniques, Mutation, Ovum, Receptor, Insulin, Reproduction |
Abstract | The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is an excellent model to study reproductive aging because of its short life span, its cessation of reproduction in mid-adulthood, and the strong conservation of pathways that regulate longevity. During its lifetime, a wild-type C. elegans hermaphrodite usually lays about 200-300 self-fertilized hatchable eggs, which mainly occurs in the first three to five days of adulthood. Here, we report the development of a microfluidic assay and a real-time, automatic progeny counting system that records progeny counting information from many individual C. elegans hermaphrodites. This system offers many advantages compared to conventional plate assays. The flow of non-proliferating bacteria not only feeds the worms but also flushes the just-hatched young progeny through a filter that separates mothers from their offspring. The progeny that are flushed out of the chamber are detected and recorded using a novel algorithm. In our current design, one device contains as many as 16 individual chambers. Here we show examples of real-time progeny production information from wild-type (N2) and daf-2 (insulin receptor) mutants. We believe that this system has the potential to become a powerful, high time-resolution tool to study the detailed reproduction of C. elegans. |
DOI | 10.1039/c4lc01028k |
Alternate Journal | Lab Chip |
PubMed ID | 25407755 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC4277648 |
Grant List | DP2 OD004402 / OD / NIH HHS / United States DP2OD004402 / OD / NIH HHS / United States |