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In Vivo Visualization of Calcium Transients during Fertilization and Early Development in C. elegans
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Visualizing Calcium Flux in Freely Moving Nematode Embryos
Evan L Ardiel1, Abhishek Kumar1, Joseph Marbach2
1Section on High Resolution Optical Imaging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Grass Lab, Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Biophysical Journal
|May 13, 2017
Summary
Physiological recordings in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos reveal muscle and neuronal activity linked to movement. Calcium waves in muscles and specific interneuron activity correlate with twitching and coordinated behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Neuroscience
- Biophysics
Background:
- Limited physiological data exists for Caenorhabditis elegans embryos.
- Existing datasets focus on anatomy and gene expression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To record and analyze physiological activity in C. elegans embryos.
- To correlate neural and muscle activity with embryonic movement.
Main Methods:
- Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy for functional imaging.
- Calcium dynamics recording in muscles and neurons.
- Analysis strategies to link activity and movement.
Main Results:
- Initiation of muscle twitching correlated with spreading calcium waves.
- Correlated muscle bundle activity linked to coordinated movement.
- Identified active neurons associated with muscle contractions and AVA interneuron activity during eggshell reversals.
Conclusions:
- First physiological recordings of C. elegans embryonic development.
- Established links between cellular activity and motor behaviors.
- Provided insights into neural circuits controlling embryonic movement.
