C. elegans Behavior & Phenotyping
Pharyngeal Pumping
This phenotype detects gross or subtle effects of genes or compounds on neuromuscular activity and/or feeding behavior and highlights changes at the neuromuscular junction and/or in upstream neuronal network.
Pharyngeal pumping data. Frequency of pumping reduced in strains containing neuromuscular signaling gene knockouts. Left: Box and whiskers plot showing the difference in mean frequency after induction to pump by serotonin. Both the unc-2 and unc-18 gene knockouts have a significant reduction from wild-type N2 in pumping frequency. Right: Representation of the EPG traces obtained from the ScreenChip platform for wild-type N2 and unc-18(knu395).
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APPLICATIONS
A phenotype can be used to identify changes at the neuromuscular junction and/or in upstream neuronal network.
ASSAY DESCRIPTION
This automated assay detects defects in synaptic transmission and muscle function. Electrophysiological data are captured from each individual C. elegans using our ScreenChip System.
DATA COLLECTED
In C. elegans, the waveforms are generated by an isolated neural network with stereotyped cholinergic signals giving rise to contractions in the pharyngeal organ musculature that are similar to those in the human heart. Data analysis using machine learning algorithms can extract and find correlations between multiple aspects of the behavior (e.g. amplitude, frequency, pattern).
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