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Overview of Chemotaxis Behavior Assays in Caenorhabditis elegans
- Source :
- Curr Protoc
- Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Environmental pollution related to anthropogenic pressures, and the associated repercussions on public health, represent a worldwide problem. Thus, the study of the effects that environmental contaminants can pose to natural ecosystems and human health is of vital importance. Laboratory model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans have played a significant role in clarifying multilevel effects of those agents. Although the evaluation of contaminant effects at the behavioral level of organisms is an emerging approach in ecotoxicology, studies assessing chemotaxis behavior in C. elegans within the ecotoxicological research context are still scarce. Chemotaxis studies in C. elegans have contributed to the understanding of both the neuronal mechanisms involved in the behavioral effects triggered by environmental cues and the impact of contaminants on natural ecosystems. Its compact and well-characterized nervous system, as well as the availability of transgenic strains and molecular tools, allows a detailed examination of behavioral, molecular, and genetic chemosensation mechanisms. This overview provides a summary and general comparison of methods used to measure chemotaxis behavior in C. elegans, with the aim of helping researchers select the most suitable approach in their chemotaxis studies. We compare methods based on the type of chemical tested, advantages and drawbacks of the different approaches, and specific experimental goals. Lastly, we hope to encourage the evaluation of C. elegans chemotaxis behavior in ecotoxicology studies, as well as its potential integration in standardized protocols assessing environmental quality. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.
- Subjects :
- Research context
ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species
Health Informatics
Environmental pollution
Computational biology
Biology
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Article
Human health
Ecotoxicology
Animals
Humans
Natural ecosystem
General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
Model organism
Caenorhabditis elegans
Ecosystem
Neurons
General Immunology and Microbiology
ved/biology
General Neuroscience
Chemotaxis
biology.organism_classification
Medical Laboratory Technology
Cues
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 26911299
- Volume :
- 1
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Current protocols
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....6cae7b2f128f1310794b9772287ce996