Nematode Motility Tracker

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***Nematodes move with a characteristic sinusoidal motion through coordinated contraction and relaxation of body muscle. Paralysis, longevity, general activity and health of a worm affects how it moves. The wMicroTracker is a unique, patented system, developed specifically to provide automated, high throughput, quantitative measurement of nematode motility. This team brings diverse backgrounds, expertise and approaches to the study of parasitic nematodes using the free-living Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. Beech: evolution of neuromuscular coordination and paralysis by anti-parasitic drugs. Long: nuclear hormone receptors of the human parasite, Schistosoma mansoni and how these regulate health and activity of the worm. Prichard: how filarial parasites detect if they are in a mammalian or an insect host via these same hormone receptors. Xia: the gut-microbiome and its interaction with the host using a specific C. elegans model of how bacteria affect overall health and longevity. The current standard for motility measurement requires direct observation of worms through a microscope. Worms do not move constantly so methodology requires they be poked individually with an eyelash, or equivalent, to stimulate movement. Collecting sufficient data requires observation of perhaps one hundred individual worms for any single experiment. In the case of longevity, these observations are made over many days. This is tedious, subjective, very low throughput, leaves no permanent, independently verifiable record and takes a great deal of dedicated time for an activity that provides no opportunity to develop any specialized knowledge nor skill. Alternatives include videography to provide a permanent record, but automated image analysis is still far from adequate. Migration assays confound the ability to move with sensory perception and stimulation of the worm to move. Microfluidic devices require dedicated, specialized equipment to produce and each is designed for a limited, specific type of motion and so would not serve our common need. The wMicroTracker specifically meets the demands of general motility detection in C. elegans and related nematodes through interruption of a point laser source by individual worms in a sample. Long has expertise with this system and has optimized its use for C. elegans and the parasites we study. The wMicroTracker system will increase the pace of research through its ability to process many samples, rapidly and without user intervention. This frees personnel to conduct other research where they gain specialized knowledge and a more desirable skillsets. Measuring motility is a such a common need that this will have a major impact on all our productivity. The wMicroTracker will be housed in the Institute of Parasitology where we have a long standing tradition of sharing major and minor equipment on a daily basis and an in-house web-based reservation system that ensures equal access for all.