Nematode Motility Tracker

***线虫通过身体肌肉的协调收缩和放松，以特有的正弦运动运动。蠕虫的瘫痪、寿命、一般活动和健康都会影响它的移动方式。wMicroTracker是一种独特的专利系统，专门用于提供线虫运动的自动化、高通量、定量测量。该团队将不同的背景，专业知识和方法用于使用自由生活的秀丽隐杆线虫作为模型的寄生线虫的研究。山毛榉：抗寄生虫药物导致神经肌肉协调和瘫痪的进化。长：人类寄生虫的核激素受体，曼氏血吸虫和这些如何调节健康和蠕虫的活动。普里查德：丝虫病寄生虫是如何通过同样的激素受体来检测它们是否在哺乳动物或昆虫宿主体内的。夏：肠道微生物群及其与宿主的相互作用，使用特定的秀丽隐杆线虫模型来研究细菌如何影响整体健康和寿命。目前的运动测量标准需要通过显微镜直接观察蠕虫。蠕虫不会一直移动，所以研究方法要求用睫毛或类似的东西戳它们，以刺激它们的运动。为了收集足够的数据，每一次实验都需要观察大约一百只个体蠕虫。就长寿而言，这些观察是在许多天内进行的。这是乏味的、主观的、非常低的吞吐量，没有留下永久的、独立可验证的记录，并且需要大量的专门时间来进行活动，而不提供任何发展任何专业知识或技能的机会。替代方法包括录象术以提供永久记录，但自动图像分析仍然远远不够。迁移分析混淆了移动能力与感觉知觉和蠕虫移动的刺激。微流控装置需要专门的、专门的设备来生产，而且每一个都是为有限的、特定类型的运动而设计的，因此不能满足我们的共同需求。wMicroTracker特别满足了秀丽隐杆线虫和相关线虫的一般运动检测需求，通过单个蠕虫在样品中中断一个点激光源。Long拥有该系统的专业知识，并优化了该系统在秀丽隐杆线虫和我们研究的寄生虫中的应用。wMicroTracker系统能够快速处理大量样品，无需用户干预，从而加快了研究的步伐。这使人员可以自由地进行其他研究，从而获得专业知识和更理想的技能。测量运动是一种如此普遍的需求，它将对我们所有的生产力产生重大影响。wMicroTracker将被安置在寄生虫学研究所，我们在那里有每天共享主要和次要设备的悠久传统，并有一个内部的基于网络的预订系统，确保所有人都能平等使用。

***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.