| Title: | Using an Adapted Microfluidic Olfactory Chip for the Imaging of Neuronal Activity in Response to Pheromones in Male C. Elegans Head Neurons |
| Author(s): | Reilly DK; Lawler DE; Albrecht DR; Srinivasan J; |
| Address: | "Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; dalbrecht@wpi.edu" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1940-087X (Electronic) 1940-087X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The use of calcium indicators has greatly enhanced our understanding of neural dynamics and regulation. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, with its completely mapped nervous system and transparent anatomy, presents an ideal model for understanding real-time neural dynamics using calcium indicators. In combination with microfluidic technologies and experimental designs, calcium-imaging studies using these indicators are performed in both free-moving and trapped animals. However, most previous studies utilizing trapping devices, such as the olfactory chip described in Chronis et al., have devices designed for use in the more common hermaphrodite, as the less common male is both morphologically and structurally dissimilar. An adapted olfactory chip was designed and fabricated for increased efficiency in male neuronal imaging with using young adult animals. A turn was incorporated into the worm loading port to rotate the animals and to allow for the separation of the individual neurons within a bilateral pair in 2D imaging. Worms are exposed to a controlled flow of odorant within the microfluidic device, as described in previous hermaphrodite studies. Calcium transients are then analyzed using the open-source software ImageJ. The procedure described herein should allow for an increased amount of male-based C. elegans calcium imaging studies, deepening our understanding of the mechanisms of sex-specific neuronal signaling" |
| Keywords: | Animals;Animals Caenorhabditis elegans/*physiology Male Microfluidics/*methods Odorants/*analysis Olfactory Receptor Neurons/*physiology Pheromones/*metabolism; |
| Notes: | "MedlineReilly, Douglas K Lawler, Daniel E Albrecht, Dirk R Srinivasan, Jagan eng R01 DC016058/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ Video-Audio Media 2017/09/21 J Vis Exp. 2017 Sep 7; (127):56026. doi: 10.3791/56026" |
