A simplified design for the C. elegans lifespan machine
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14440/jbm.2020.332Keywords:
Caenorhabditis elegans, lifespan machine, automation, aging, longevity, anti-aging interventionsAbstract
Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) lifespan assays constitute a broadly used approach for investigating the fundamental biology of longevity. Traditional C. elegans lifespan assays require labor-intensive microscopic monitoring of individual animals to evaluate life/death over a period of weeks, making large-scale high throughput studies impractical. The lifespan machine developed by Stroustrup et al. (2013) adapted flatbed scanner technologies to contribute a major technical advance in the efficiency of C. elegans survival assays. Introducing a platform in which large portions of a lifespan assay are automated enabled longevity studies of a scope not possible with previous exclusively manual assays and facilitated novel discovery. Still, as initially described, constructing and operating scanner-based lifespan machines requires considerable effort and expertise. Here we report on design modifications that simplify construction, decrease cost, eliminate certain mechanical failures, and decrease assay workload requirements. The modifications we document should make the lifespan machine more accessible to interested laboratories.References
Sutphin GL, Kaeberlein M. Measuring Caenorhabditis elegans life span on solid media. J Vis Exp. 2009; 1–7. doi:10.3791/1152 19488025
Hulme SE, Shevkoplyas SS, McGuigan AP, Apfeld J, Fontana W, Whitesides GM. Lifespan-on-a-chip: microfluidic chambers for performing lifelong observation of C. elegans. Lab Chip. 2010;10: 589–97. doi:10.1039/b919265d 20162234
Churgin MA, Jung SK, Yu CC, Chen X, Raizen DM, Fang-Yen C. Longitudinal imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans in a microfabricated device reveals variation in behavioral decline during aging. Elife. 2017;6: 1–25. doi:10.7554/eLife.26652 28537553
Stroustrup N, Ulmschneider BE, Nash ZM, López-Moyado IF, Apfeld J, Fontana W. The Caenorhabditis elegans Lifespan Machine. Nat Methods. 2013;10: 665–70. doi:10.1038/nmeth.2475 23666410
Stroustrup N, Anthony WE, Nash ZM, Gowda V, Gomez A, López-Moyado IF, et al. The temporal scaling of Caenorhabditis elegans ageing. Nature. Nature Publishing Group; 2016;530: 103–7. doi:10.1038/nature16550 26814965
Banse SA, Lucanic M, Sedore CA, Coleman-Hulbert AL, Plummer WT, Chen E, et al. Automated lifespan determination across Caenorhabditis strains and species reveals assay-specific effects of chemical interventions. GeroScience. 2019;41: 945–960. doi:10.1007/s11357-019-00108-9 31820364
Brenner S. The genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 1974;77: 71–94. Available: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1213120&tool=pmcentrez&rendertype=abstract 4366476
Yoshimura J, Ichikawa K, Shoura MJ, Artiles KL, Gabdank I, Wahba L, et al. Recompleting the Caenorhabditis elegans genome. Genome Res. 2019;29: 1009–1022. doi:10.1101/gr.244830.118 31123080
Caenorhabditis Intervention Testing Program. CITP Automated Lifespan Machine (ALM) SOPs [Internet]. 2019. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4580546
Banse SA, Blue BW, Robinson KJ, Jarrett CM, Phillips PC. The Stress-Chip: A microfluidic platform for stress analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS One. 2019;14: e0216283. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216283. 31042764
Lucanic M, Plummer WT, Chen E, Harke J, Foulger AC, Onken B, et al. Impact of genetic background and experimental reproducibility on identifying chemical compounds with robust longevity effects. Nat Commun. Nature Publishing Group; 2017;8: 14256. doi:10.1038/ncomms14256 28220799
Coleman-Hulbert A, Johnson E, Sedore C, Banse S, Guo M, Driscoll M, et al. Caenorhabditis Intervention Testing Program: the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate does not extend lifespan in nematodes. microPublication Biol. 2019; doi:10.17912/micropub.biology.000131
Coleman-Hulbert A, Johnson E, Sedore C, Banse S, Guo M, Driscoll M, et al. Caenorhabditis Intervention Testing Program: the creatine analog β- guanidinopropionic acid does not extend lifespan in nematodes. microPublication Biol. 2020; doi:10.17912/micropub.biology.000207 31998863
Morshead, ML; Sedore, CA; Jones, EG; Hall, D; Plummer, WT; Garrett, T; Lucanic, M; Guo, M; Driscoll, M; Phillips, PC; Lithgow, G (2020). Caenorhabditis Intervention Testing Program: the farnesoid X receptor agonist obeticholic acid does not robustly extend lifespan in nematodes. microPublication Biology. 10.17912/micropub.biology.000257
Lithgow GJ, Driscoll M, Phillips P. A long journey to reproducible results. Nature. 2017;548: 387–388. doi:10.1038/548387a 28836615
De Magalhaes Filho CD, Henriquez B, Seah NE, Evans RM, Lapierre LR, Dillin A. Visible light reduces C. elegans longevity. Nat Commun. Springer US; 2018;9. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-02934-5 29500338
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with JBM agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant JBM right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).