Dataset Information

Resolving coiled shapes reveals new reorientation behaviors in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: We exploit the reduced space of C. elegans postures to develop a novel tracking algorithm which captures both simple shapes and also self-occluding coils, an important, yet unexplored, component of 2D worm behavior. We apply our algorithm to show that visually complex, coiled sequences are a superposition of two simpler patterns: the body wave dynamics and a head-curvature pulse. We demonstrate the precise ?-turn dynamics of an escape response and uncover a surprising new dichotomy in spontaneous, large-amplitude coils; deep reorientations occur not only through classical ?-shaped postures but also through larger postural excitations which we label here as ?-turns. We find that omega and delta turns occur independently, suggesting a distinct triggering mechanism, and are the serpentine analog of a random left-right step. Finally, we show that omega and delta turns occur with approximately equal rates and adapt to food-free conditions on a similar timescale, a simple strategy to avoid navigational bias.

SUBMITTER: Broekmans OD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5030097 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Resolving coiled shapes reveals new reorientation behaviors in C. elegans.

Broekmans Onno D OD Rodgers Jarlath B JB Ryu William S WS Stephens Greg J GJ

eLife 20160920

We exploit the reduced space of C. elegans postures to develop a novel tracking algorithm which captures both simple shapes and also self-occluding coils, an important, yet unexplored, component of 2D worm behavior. We apply our algorithm to show that visually complex, coiled sequences are a superposition of two simpler patterns: the body wave dynamics and a head-curvature pulse. We demonstrate the precise Ω-turn dynamics of an escape response and uncover a surprising new dichotomy in spontaneou ...[more]

PMID: 27644113

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Project description:There has been a great deal of interest in identifying potential biomarkers of aging (Butler et al. 2004). Biomarkers of aging would be useful to predict potential vulnerabilities in an individual that may arise well before they are chronologically expected, due to idiosyncratic aging rates that occur between individuals. Prior attempts to identify biomarkers of aging have often relied on the comparisons of long-lived animals to a wild-type control (Dhahbi et al. 2004). However, the effect of interventions in model systems that prolong lifespan (such as single gene mutations, or caloric restriction) can sometimes be difficult to interpret due to the manipulation itself having multiple unforeseen consequences on physiology, unrelated to aging itself (Gems et al. 2002; Partridge & Gems 2006). The search for predictive biomarkers of aging therefore is problematic, and the identification of metrics that can be used to predict either physiological or chronological age would be of great value (Butler et al. 2004). One methodology which has been used to identify biomarkers for numerous pathologies is gene expression profiling. Here, we report whole-genome expression profiles of individual wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans covering the entire wild-type nematode life span. Individual nematodes were scored for either age-related behavioral phenotypes, or survival, and then subsequently associated with their respective gene expression profiles. This facilitated the identification of transcriptional profiles that were highly associated with either physiological or chronological age. Overall, our approach serves as a paradigm for identifying potential biomarkers of aging in higher organisms that can be repeatedly sampled throughout their lifespan. The full normalized data set with expression values for all genes of all individual worms at all ages (104 worms/arrays) is available as a 28Mb download as a supplementary file on this page (GSE12290.txt). Keywords: time couse Time course of aging in C. elegans. 7 ages were assayed, with a minimum of 9 biological replicates per timepoint, and as many as 17 biological replicates. All ages were compared to an independent 4 day old (young) pooled control.

Dataset Information

Resolving coiled shapes reveals new reorientation behaviors in C. elegans.

Publications

Resolving coiled shapes reveals new reorientation behaviors in C. elegans.

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