What is the average speed of a worm

In summary, in order to ensure reproducibilty of a study analyzing the behavior of C. In order to offer advanced C. With these capabilities, the advanced behavioral analyses performed in the present study are either, in the latter case, not possible, or in the former case must be done by tracking only one worm at a time. As demonstrated here, large interindividual variability creates the need for a large sample size to reliably compare test groups, making a low-throughput, one-worm-at-a-time solution ineffective due to the time required to generate an adequate sample size.

In two systems, Multi Worm Tracker Swierczek et al. In the present study, the video recording time was restricted to 60 s in order to limit worms moving out of or moving back into the field-of-view of the camera.

However, it was not possible to decrease the magnification at which the videos were recorded. The latter would have resulted in an increased scale of the pixels and, thus, a decreased number of pixels per worm, preventing precise and accurate advanced behavioral analysis as outlined in the present study.

In this regard it should be noted that Swierczek et al. Accordingly, the field-of-view was 24 cm 2 in their study and, thus, larger than the base area of the 5 cm NGM-agar plates used by Swierczek et al.

This is substantially different from the settings used in the present study. Swierczek et al. On the other hand, Swierczek et al. Supplemental Video 2 in Angstman et al. By measuring behavioral change of worms on plates with and without the presence of E. Furthermore, the same study showed reduction in speed in multiple C. In this case, behavioral change was able to shed light on the roles of individual proteins on C.

Further analysis of behavioral change of N2 worms in the presence of an E. It should be noted that this methodology differs from that of the present study in a number of ways: i individual worms are used rather than groups of worms on plates, ii worms on plates are allowed to habituate for a 30 min period before assaying, while no habituation time is allowed in the present study in both studies, worms on plates with no lawn are assayed immediately , and iii video recording is performed for 15 min, while in the present study video recording consisted of 1 min.

In-depth measurement of individual C. The present study shows that behavioral change, using the example of E. In turn, increased behavioral analyses allow for the quantification of behavioral change that may not sufficiently be represented by speed of locomotion. This can be used in combination with knockout C. In turn, this could then help in furthering the connection in C. Due to the design of the experiment requiring the assaying of multiple worms per NGM-agar plate, nested analysis was used to investigate the potential impact of inter-plate variability on statistical analysis, an issue recently reviewed in the literature Aarts et al.

It has previously been suggested that, due to the high interindividual variability observed in C. Turned around, if this factor is now accounted for, an even greater number of C. The methods used in the present study also offer particular relevance in the fields of toxicology, drug discovery, and RNAi screening.

Because the effects of various chemical compounds may not be predictable, the ability to screen using multiple parameters offers increased sensitivity in terms of identifying subtle behavioral change. Furthermore, potential changes in behavioral traits in C.

Although novel worm tracking software for tracking C. This is, however, not the ideal delivery method for C. This is due to the fact that C. Exposure to chemicals in liquid, however, provides a much more effective delivery method.

In the present study, worms were maintained solely in a liquid culture until immediately before video capture. Importantly, we have previously demonstrated that C. Due to our rapid transfer method, previously described in Angstman et al. The combination of this and enhanced capability of behavioral analysis provides an ideal model for use in the fields of toxicology, drug discovery, and RNAi screening.

In summary, the advanced analysis model of C. Such analyses go beyond simple speed of locomotion measurements, offering greater sensitivity in measuring C. This model potentially offers utility in the connecting of C. However, CS has not received financial support directly or indirectly related to this manuscript.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The authors wish to thank Pia Unterberger Dept.

Wild type N2 C. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Front Behav Neurosci v. Front Behav Neurosci. Published online Mar Nicholas B. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer.

Received Jun 29; Accepted Mar The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author s or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.

No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

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Publisher: Biologycorner. Alternative Lab Handout: Freestyle Lab Template for an assignment that is more open-ended; give instructions above with less guidelines on data collection and allow students more freedom to design the experiment.