A fluorescence lifetime-based novel method for accurate lipid quantification of BODIPY vital-stained C. elegans

Lipid droplets (LDs) are organelles associated with lipid storage and energy metabolism, thus, their morphology and quantity are of significant research interest. While commercially available BODIPY dye effectively labels LDs in various cell types, it also labels lysosome-related organelles (LROs) in C. elegans, leading to non-specific LD quantification. Here, we report that the fluorescent signals of BODIPY exhibit distinct fluorescence lifetime patterns for LROs and LDs, which can be captured, visualized, and filtered by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. Furthermore, we proposed and validated a method based on fluorescence lifetime that can improve the accuracy of fat storage quantification in BODIPY vital-staining worms, which holds broad applications, including rapid and accurate LD quantification in forward genetic screening. Additionally, our method enables observing dynamic LD-LRO interactions in living worms, a unique capability of BODIPY vital staining. Our findings highlight distinct BODIPY fluorescence lifetime characteristics of LDs and LROs, providing a valuable tool for future research on LDs, LROs, or their interactions.