Open AccessA transfer-less, multi-well liquid culture feeding system for screening small molecules that affect the longevity of Caenorhabditis elegans
Author(s) -
Vanessa K. Fitzgerald,
Meghan M. Mensack,
Pamela Wolfe,
Henry J. Thompson
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
biotechniques/biotechniques
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.617
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1940-9818
pISSN - 0736-6205
DOI - 10.2144/000113277
Subject(s) - longevity , caenorhabditis elegans , biology , high throughput screening , microbiology and biotechnology , human health , toxicology , computational biology , genetics , medicine , environmental health , gene
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.