A scalable method for automatically measuring pharyngeal pumping in C. elegans

Scholz, Monika; Lynch, Dylan; Lee, Kyung Suk; Levine, Erel; Biron, David

doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2016.07.016

Cited by 34 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…These model predictions are strongly supported by our recent experimental measurement of pumping dynamics in oscillating environments (4). These results show that C. elegans do not track oscillations of food concentration perfectly, even when these oscillations are slower than the typical duration of a burst.…”

Section: The Required Confidence Level Affects Performance When Resousupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Indeed, the pumping rate approaches 1 at µ = T as p becomes smaller. We note that in previous experiments no such maximum was observed, suggesting that C. elegans may follow a lessstringent rule (3,4).…”

Section: The Required Confidence Level Affects Performance When Resoumentioning

confidence: 56%

“…This conceptualization of feeding behavior suggests optimal feeding strategies in response to conflicting inputs and to fluctuating environments. ambient density we collected feeding times series from multiple worms by automatically tracking the motion of their grinder (3,4). Exemplary trajectories show bursts of consecutive pumps and pauses ( Fig.…”

Section: Elegansmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data from worms (3,4) and flies (5) reveal complex dynamics that are responsive to the availability of food in the animal's environment. These data suggest that food uptake occurs in bouts of high-rate feeding, whose duration and frequency increase with the presence of food.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pumping is therefore a proxy for the behavioral dynamics of feeding. Supported by microfluidics technology, time traces of pumping in individual worms can be obtained over long periods of time using either optical (3,4) or electrophysiological (6) methods.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stochastic feeding dynamics arise from the need for information and energy

Scholz

Dinner

Levine

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Animals regulate their food intake in response to the available level of food. Recent observations of feeding dynamics in small animals showed feeding patterns of bursts and pauses, but their function is unknown. Here, we present a data-driven decisiontheoretical model of feeding in Caenorhabditis elegans. Our central assumption is that food intake serves a dual purpose: to gather information about the external food level and to ingest food when the conditions are good. The model recapitulates experimentally observed feeding patterns. It naturally implements trade-offs between speed versus accuracy and exploration versus exploitation in responding to a dynamic environment. We find that the model predicts three distinct regimes in responding to a dynamical environment, with a transition region where animals respond stochastically to periodic signals. This stochastic response accounts for previously unexplained experimental data.decision theory | feeding behavior | sequential analysis R egulation of food intake is important for maintaining energy balance in animals. Failure can lead, for example, to reduced fitness, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases (1, 2). To successfully regulate their feeding, animals need to assess the expected availability of food in their environment.Recent advances in automated longitudinal imaging of small animals make the acquisition of large-scale quantitative feeding data possible. Data from worms (3, 4) and flies (5) reveal complex dynamics that are responsive to the availability of food in the animal's environment. These data suggest that food uptake occurs in bouts of high-rate feeding, whose duration and frequency increase with the presence of food. Whether these dynamics serve a function is not known.In this paper we hypothesize that the dynamics of feeding observed in small animals are intimately related to a decisionmaking process. Since feeding behaviors are costly in energy and can expose animals to toxins and pathogens, the decision to feed carries consequences and should be considered carefully by the animal. We posit that food uptake from the environment serves two purposes: to provide the animal with information about the food that is available in the environment and to take up nutrients. To explore the implications of this assertion, we develop, analyze, and experimentally test a quantitative model.We focus on the regulation of feeding by the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, a free-living nematode that is found predominantly in fruit composts and feeds on bacteria. The feeding organ of the worm, the pharynx, is a simple neuromuscular pump. Each pump brings a small number of bacteria suspended in water into the pharyngeal lumen. The pharynx then expels the water, grinds the bacteria, and sends them into the intestine. Pumping is therefore a proxy for the behavioral dynamics of feeding. Supported by microfluidics technology, time traces of pumping in individual worms can be obtained over long periods of time using either optical (3, 4) or electrophysiological...

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Section: The Required Confidence Level Affects Performance When Resousupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: The Required Confidence Level Affects Performance When Resoumentioning

confidence: 56%

Section: Elegansmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stochastic feeding dynamics arise from the need for information and energy

Scholz

Dinner

Levine

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Spatiotemporal Tracking of Near‐Infrared Fluorescent Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes in C. Elegans Nematodes Confined in a Microfluidics Platform

Sharaga,

Hendler‐Neumark,

Kamber

et al. 2023

Adv Materials Technologies

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Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) nematodes are a powerful model organism for diverse biological and biomedical studies, benefiting from their genetic similarities to humans, small size, and transparency. However, fluorescence imaging of C. elegans can be challenging due to the strong autofluorescence in the visible range, which obscures the signal of common fluorescent proteins or dyes. Single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) fluoresce in the near‐infrared (NIR) range, where there is no autofluorescence background. Herein, a platform is developed for in vivo NIR imaging of C. elegans gastrointestinal tract using biocompatible SWCNTs functionalized by single‐stranded DNA or phospholipid‐polyethylene glycol (PEG). The SWCNTs serve as fluorescent tracking probes within the worm gut, following internalization along with food intake. A microfluidic confinement device is employed to ensure an anesthetics‐free feeding environment, allowing spatiotemporal control over the SWCNTs intake imaging. Furthermore, improvements in spectral colocalization, real‐time detection of intracorporeal SWCNT dynamics, and digestive trajectory tracking are demonstrated. Owing to the unique optical properties of SWCNTs and the confinement of the worms in the microfluidics system, the proposed platform facilitates advanced in vivo imaging of C. elegans in both the visible and NIR regions, opening numerous avenues for advancing research of C. elegans and other microscopic model organisms.

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C. elegans foraging as a model for understanding the neuronal basis of decision-making

Haley,

Chalasani

2024

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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Animals have evolved to seek, select, and exploit food sources in their environment. Collectively termed foraging, these ubiquitous behaviors are necessary for animal survival. As a foundation for understanding foraging, behavioral ecologists established early theoretical and mathematical frameworks which have been subsequently refined and supported by field and laboratory studies of foraging animals. These simple models sought to explain how animals decide which strategies to employ when locating food, what food items to consume, and when to explore the environment for new food sources. These foraging decisions involve integration of prior experience with multimodal sensory information about the animal’s current environment and internal state. We suggest that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is well-suited for a high-resolution analysis of complex goal-oriented behaviors such as foraging. We focus our discussion on behavioral studies highlighting C. elegans foraging on bacteria and summarize what is known about the underlying neuronal and molecular pathways. Broadly, we suggest that this simple model system can provide a mechanistic understanding of decision-making and present additional avenues for advancing our understanding of complex behavioral processes.

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A scalable method for automatically measuring pharyngeal pumping in C. elegans

Cited by 34 publications

References 14 publications

Stochastic feeding dynamics arise from the need for information and energy

Stochastic feeding dynamics arise from the need for information and energy

Spatiotemporal Tracking of Near‐Infrared Fluorescent Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes in C. Elegans Nematodes Confined in a Microfluidics Platform

C. elegans foraging as a model for understanding the neuronal basis of decision-making

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