Innovative fluorescent probes for in vivo visualization of biomolecules in living Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a well-established multicellular model organism has been widely used in the biological field for half a century. Its numerous advantages including small body size, rapid life cycle, high-reproductive rate, well-defined anatomy, and conserved genome, has made C. elegans one of the most successful multicellular model organisms. Discoveries obtained from the C. elegans model have made great contributions to research fields such as development, aging, biophysics, immunology, and neuroscience. Because of its transparent body and giant cell size, C. elegans is also an ideal subject for high resolution and high-throughput optical imaging and analysis. During the past decade, great advances have been made to develop biomolecule-targeting techniques for noninvasive optical imaging. These novel technologies expanded the toolbox for qualitative and quantitative analysis of biomolecules in C. elegans. In this review, we summarize recently developed fluorescent probes or labeling techniques for visualizing biomolecules at the cellular, subcellular or molecular scale by using C. elegans as the major model organism or designed specifically for the applications in C. elegans. Combining the technological advantages of the C. elegans model with the novel fluorescent labeling techniques will provide new horizons for high-efficiency quantitative optical analysis in live organisms.

Intravital microscopy for real-time monitoring of drug delivery and nanobiological processes

“…Commonly, small and/or transparent animals are used to image surficial structures or structures well visible within their body for which purpose they are frequently adopted in developmental stud-ies. C. elegans, drosophila larvae, and zebrafish embryos offer several key advantages as model systems in the study of physiological processes [52][53][54][55][56][57]. Optical transparency in combination with a broad toolset for genetic modifications (temporal and spatial controlled gene expression of fluorescent reporters) led to many novel insights into development and differentiation.…”

Recent progress in cytometric technologies and their applications in ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment

“…Because of their transparent bodies, many aquatics are convenient models for in situ high-throughput imaging [125]. Diverse analytical protocols can be performed using whole-mount immunohistochemistry preparations as well as on live, anesthetized specimens when used in conjunction with cell-permeant fluorescent probes or transgenic lines [125,126]. Preservation of intact specimens can provide tremendous benefits for the analysis of cellular and physiological parameters [49,125,126].…”

“…Diverse analytical protocols can be performed using whole-mount immunohistochemistry preparations as well as on live, anesthetized specimens when used in conjunction with cell-permeant fluorescent probes or transgenic lines [125,126]. Preservation of intact specimens can provide tremendous benefits for the analysis of cellular and physiological parameters [49,125,126]. The in situ cytometric techniques feature many attributes of both flow cytometry (gating and multi-parameter quantitative data analysis) and imaging (no dissociation of specimens required) and can be optimal instrumentation for multi-parameter and organ-specific induction of cell death in ecotoxicology [49].…”

Isolation and characterisation of nematicidal compound, leolorin C, from Leonotis leonurus acetone leaf extract

“…Hence, this study aimed to isolate nematicidal compounds from L. leonurus using Caenorhabditis elegans as a test organism in bioassay-guided isolation. Caenorhabditis elegans was selected for the present study as a model due to the advantages it provides in the laboratory, such as its short life cycle and small body size, as well as its high sensitivity to toxins and toxicants, which enable testing of various samples (Leung et al, 2008;Wang et al, 2021). In addition to the ease of working with this species, in contrast to parasitic nematodes, is the existence of reports providing leads to development of anthelmintic drugs through understanding their mode of action and mechanisms of resistance using C. elegans (Holden-Dye and Walker, 2014).…”