Cancer Prevention Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Biotechniques. 2009 Dec;47(6 Suppl):ix-xv. doi: 10.2144/000113277.
Agricultural sciences rely almost entirely on chemical assays to screen the thousands of crop cultivars generated in a crop improvement program for potential human health benefits. This situation exists in part because most animal models are expensive to implement, utilize large amounts of plant material, and require specialized facilities and technical training. A cost-effective, high-throughput animal model to screen crop extracts for small molecules with biological activity related to human health benefits would provide a much-needed resource. Here we introduce a new, relatively high-throughput method incorporating the microscopic Caenorhabditis elegans nematode, which is suitable for screening chemical extracts for bioactivity without the need for robotics. This system was chosen because longevity extension in C. elegans has been previously associated with human health benefits. Through the use of cell culture inserts, C. elegans can be exposed to fresh crop extracts daily throughout their lifespan without mechanical manipulation of the worm, thus minimizing stress and creating an environment suitable for experiments measuring longevity. Additionally, the duration of longevity experiments can be reduced by using type II right censoring in experimental design and survival analyses.
农业科学几乎完全依赖化学分析来筛选作物改良计划中产生的数千种作物品种，以寻找潜在的人类健康益处。这种情况的部分原因是，大多数动物模型的实施成本高昂，需要大量的植物材料，并且需要专门的设施和技术培训。一种具有成本效益的高通量动物模型，可以筛选具有与人类健康益处相关的生物活性的作物提取物，将提供急需的资源。在这里，我们介绍了一种新的、相对高通量的方法，该方法结合了微观秀丽隐杆线虫，适用于筛选具有生物活性的化学提取物，而无需使用机器人。之所以选择这种系统，是因为秀丽隐杆线虫的寿命延长以前与人类健康益处有关。通过使用细胞培养插入物，可以在秀丽隐杆线虫的整个生命周期中每天暴露于新鲜的作物提取物中，而无需对蠕虫进行机械操作，从而最大限度地减少压力并创造适合测量寿命的实验环境。此外，通过在实验设计和生存分析中使用 II 型右删失，可以缩短寿命实验的持续时间。
