Migration of Q Cells in Caenorhabditis elegans

During C. elegans larval development, the Q neuroblasts produce their lineage by three rounds of divisions along with continuous cell migrations. Their neuronal progeny is dispersed from the pharynx to the anus. This in vivo system to study cell migration is appealing for several reasons. The lineage development is stereotyped; functional analysis and genomic screens are rendered easy and powerful thanks to powerful tools; transgenic manipulations and genome engineering are efficient and can be conveniently combined with live-cell imaging. Here we describe a series of protocols in Q cell migration studies, including quantifications of progeny position, genetic screening strategies, preparation of migration mutants or transgenic worms expressing related fluorescent proteins, multipositional time-lapse tracking of Q cell migration using confocal microscopy and image analyses of single cell movements and dynamics.