Analysis of Freely Swimming C. elegans Using Laser Diffraction英文文献资料.docVIP

Open Journal of Biophysics, 2012, 2, 101-107 /10.4236/ojbiphy.2012.23013 Published Online July 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ojbiphy) Analysis of Freely Swimming C. elegans Using Laser Diffraction Jenny Magnes , Kathleen M. Raley-Susman , Noureddine Melikechi , Alicia Sampson , 1* 2 3 1 1 1 1 Rebecca Eells , Alexandra Bello , Michael Lueckheide 1 Physics and Astronomy Department, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, USA Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, USA Department of Physics and Pre-Engineering, Delaware State University, Dover, USA 2 3 Email: jemagnes@ * Received May 22, 2012; revised June 28, 2012; accepted July 8, 2012 ABSTRACT Soil and aquatic multicellular microorganisms play a critical role in the nutrient-cycling and organismal ecology of soil and aquatic ecosystems. These organisms live and behave in a complex three-dimensional environment. Most studies of microorganismal behavior, in contrast, have been conducted using microscope-based approaches, which limit the movement and behavior to a narrow, nearly two-dimensional focal field. We report on a novel analytical approach that provides real-time analysis of freely swimming C. elegans without dependence on microscope-based equipment. This approach consists of tracking the temporal periodicity of diffraction patterns generated by directing laser light onto ne- matodes in a cuvette. We measured oscillation frequencies for freely swimming nematodes in cuvettes of different sizes to provide different physical constraints on their swimming. We compared these frequencies with those obtained for nematodes swimming within a small droplet of water on a microscope slide, a s