Department of Pathobiological Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI USA.
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI USA.
Integr Biol (Camb). 2023 Apr 11;15. doi: 10.1093/intbio/zyad010.
Sensory pathways first elucidated in Caenorhabditis elegans are conserved across free-living and parasitic nematodes, even though each species responds to a diverse array of compounds. Most nematode sensory assays are performed by tallying observations of worm behavior on two-dimensional planes using agarose plates. These assays have been successful in the study of volatile sensation but are poorly suited for investigation of water-soluble gustation or parasitic nematodes without a free-living stage. In contrast, gustatory assays tend to be tedious, often limited to the manipulation of a single individual at a time. We have designed a nematode sensory assay using a microfluidics device that allows for the study of gustation in a 96-well, three-dimensional environment. This device is suited for free-living worms and parasitic worms that spend their lives in an aqueous environment, and we have used it to show that ivermectin inhibits the gustatory ability of vector-borne parasitic nematodes. Insight box Nematodes are powerful model organisms for understanding the sensory biology of multicellular eukaryotes, and many parasitic species cause disease in humans. Simple sensory assays performed on agarose plates have been the bedrock for establishing the neuronal, genetic, and developmental foundations for many sensory modalities in nematodes. However, these classical assays are poorly suited for translational movement of many parasitic nematodes and the sensation of water-soluble molecules (gustation). We have designed a device for high-throughput nematode sensory assays in a gel matrix. This 'gustatory microplate' is amenable to several species and reveals novel responses by free-living and parasitic nematodes to cues and drugs.
秀丽隐杆线虫中首次阐明的感觉途径在自由生活和寄生线虫中是保守的，尽管每个物种对各种化合物都有反应。大多数线虫感觉测定是通过在琼脂糖平板上对蠕虫在二维平面上的行为进行计数来完成的。这些测定方法在挥发性感觉的研究中非常成功，但不适合研究水溶性味觉或没有自由生活阶段的寄生线虫。相比之下，味觉测定往往很繁琐，通常一次只能操作单个个体。我们设计了一种使用微流控装置的线虫感觉测定方法，该方法允许在 96 孔三维环境中研究味觉。该装置适用于生活在水环境中的自由生活线虫和寄生线虫，我们已经使用它表明伊维菌素抑制了虫媒传播寄生线虫的味觉能力。洞察盒线虫是理解多细胞真核生物感觉生物学的强大模式生物，许多寄生物种会导致人类患病。在琼脂糖平板上进行的简单感觉测定已经成为许多线虫感觉模式的神经元、遗传和发育基础的基石。然而，这些经典测定方法不太适合许多寄生线虫的平移运动和水溶性分子（味觉）的感觉。我们设计了一种用于凝胶基质中高通量线虫感觉测定的装置。这种“味觉微板”适用于几种物种，并揭示了自由生活和寄生线虫对线索和药物的新反应。
