Automated Analysis of C. elegans Swim Behavior Using CeleST Software.
Automated Analysis of C. elegans Swim Behavior Using CeleST Software.
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DOI：
10.3791/54359
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发表时间：
2016-12-07
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影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Driscoll M
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文献类型：
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作者：
Ibáñez-Ventoso C;Herrera C;Chen E;Motto D;Driscoll M
剖析调节行为的神经元和神经肌肉回路仍然是生物学的一个主要挑战。线虫秀丽隐杆线虫已被证明是帮助应对这一挑战的宝贵模式生物，从鼓舞人心的技术方法，构建人脑连接体，到实际揭示基本功能模式的特定分子驱动因素。在C. elegans已经在固体基质上进行。在液体中，动物表现出的行为模式包括在3D中以一系列速度运动，以及部分身体运动，例如没有前部形状变化的后部卷曲，这为定量带来了新的挑战。一个简单的程序的步骤，并使用一个软件，使高分辨率的分析C。游泳的行为，在这里介绍。该软件名为CeleST，使用一种专门的计算机程序，可以同时跟踪多只动物，并提供新的C。elegans在液体中的运动（游泳）。这些措施主要基于动物的姿势，并基于计算机视觉和模式识别中使用的数学，没有阈值截止的计算要求。该软件工具可用于评估来自组合小批量试验的数百只动物的整体游泳能力，并揭示即使在特征良好的遗传突变体中的新表型。CeleST分析用标本的制备简单，技术含量低，使科学界能够广泛采用。因此，使用这里描述的计算方法应该有助于更好地理解C。elegans模型
Dissecting the neuronal and neuromuscular circuits that regulate behavior remains a major challenge in biology. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has proven to be an invaluable model organism in helping to tackle this challenge, from inspiring technological approaches, building the human brain connectome, to actually shedding light on the specific molecular drivers of basic functional patterns. The bulk of the behavioral studies in C. elegans have been performed on solid substrates. In liquid, animals exhibit behavioral patterns that include movement at a range of speeds in 3D, as well as partial body movements, such as a posterior curl without anterior shape change, which introduce new challenges for quantitation. The steps of a simple procedure, and use of a software that enables high-resolution analysis of C. elegans swim behavior, are presented here. The software, named CeleST, uses a specialized computer program that tracks multiple animals simultaneously and provides novel measures of C. elegans locomotion in liquid (swimming). The measures are mostly grounded in animal posture and based on mathematics used in computer vision and pattern recognition, without computational requirements for threshold cut-offs. The software tool can be used to both assess overall swimming prowess in hundreds of animals from combined small batch trials and to reveal novel phenotypes even in well-characterized genetic mutants. The preparation of specimens for analysis with CeleST is simple and low-tech, enabling wide adaptation by the scientific community. Use of the computational approach described here should therefore contribute to the greater understanding of behavior and behavioral circuits in the C. elegans model.