Caenorhabditis elegans: characters of negatively charged groups on the cuticle and intestine

Partial characterization of carboxyl, sulfate, and phosphate groups on the Caenorhabditis elegans cuticle and intestinal microvilli was achieved by en face labeling of floating cryosections at two pH levels and specific blockage of sulfate groups by Alcian blue. All negatively charged groups on the cuticle and intestinal microvilli labeled heavily at pH 7.2-7.4. Pretreatment to block sulfate groups followed by ferritin labeling at pH 7.2-7.4 gave a 35% reduction of binding on the cuticle and an 80% reduction in binding on the microvilli. At pH 1.8 or 2.5, only the sulfate groups labeled as shown by the complete abolition of labeling on the cuticle and the microvilli following blockage of the sulfate groups. Molecules with accessible sulfate groups were distributed in clusters throughout the cortical layer of the cuticle, were present in the struts of the median layer but were absent from the basal layer. The advantages of applying molecular probes to cryosections as compared to sections prepared by standard electron microscopical techniques are discussed.