Premium
Resolving Subtle Treatment Effects through Pharyngeal Pumping Variability Assessment in the Nematode C. elegans
Author(s) -
Harris Michael B,
Barrientos Christopher,
Bui Andy,
Co Mary,
Gill Sunny,
Lim Shelby,
Ly Lily,
Ortiz Brianna,
Parabo Ashley,
Phillips Derek,
Tran Adrian,
Valdez Vanessa,
Vu Tien,
Taylor Barbara E,
Berlemont Renaud
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.726.7
Subject(s) - pharynx , pharyngeal muscles , motor neuron , biology , biological system , computer science , neuroscience , anatomy , spinal cord
In C. elegans , feeding is achieved through a well characterized behavior, pharyngeal pumping. This pumping is controlled by two pairs of pharyngeal motor neurons (MC and M3). Each pump cycle corresponds to the propagation of a single pharyngeal muscle action potential, initiated by MC and terminated by M3. Many studies evaluate pharyngeal pumping to reveal experimental results and, traditionally, this has been quantified as an occurrence frequency by determining the number of pumps observed in a given time. Although rhythmic, pharyngeal pumping is both variable and periodic, and traditional pharyngeal pumping rate assessment does not consider underlying variability of pumping behavior or the sources of this variability. We use the recently developed ScreenChip system (NemaMetrix) to detect individual pump events, and have developed an algorithm (WormBeat) to normalize variation between subjects and distinguish variability associated with MC neuron pace and neuromuscular fidelity of the pharynx. The theory and practice of the WormBeat algorithm is described in a companion presentation. Here we use both traditional event‐frequency analysis and our algorithm to evaluate pharyngeal pumping. Studies are done in wild type (N2) C. elegans during pharmacological manipulations designed to alter the pace and regularity of MC and/or of the fidelity of pharyngeal neuromuscular junction. We also evaluate pharyngeal pumping in a series of mutant strains with known pumping defects. Our results illustrate that the WormBeat algorithm can identify subtle treatment effects and can identify and distinguish variation on motor neuron pacing from that produced by disruption of neuromuscular fidelity. These data support a hypothesis that underlying variability is a relevant and insightful index of functional decline in this model organism Support or Funding Information Work reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers 1R15HL126105, 1SC2GM112570, UL1GM118979, TL4GM118980, and RL5GM118978. The work is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health or any other funding body. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .