Main description:

This detailed new edition provides a guide for implementing a selection of novel techniques utilizing the pioneering organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, a vital discovery engine for the rules of life, from molecules and genes, through cellular physiology, metabolism and aging, neurobiology and behavior, to individuality and interaction with the environment. Beginning with two chapters offering practical advice for setting up research programs with C. elegans, either for a new research group or for a short-term project such as a teaching laboratory, the volume continues with numerous hands-on methodologies. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.
Authoritative and up-to-date, C. elegans: Methods and Applications, Third Edition offers the kind of clear guidance that will serve all researchers working with these vital and dynamic organisms.

Contents:

1. Starting a C. elegans Research Laboratory: Practical Advice

Anne C. Hart and Heather. L. Bennett

2. The Basics of Setting Up Successful Teaching Labs and Short-Term Projects with C. elegans

Elizabeth E. Glater

3. Cryopreservation of C. elegans and Other Nematodes with Dimethyl Sulfoxide and Trehalose

Kevin F. O'Connell

4. Genetic Methods for Cellular Manipulation in C. elegans

Menachem Katz

5. Observing and Quantifying Fluorescent Reporters

Sreeparna Pradhan and Michael Hendricks

6. Microbial Rhodopsin Optogenetic Tools: Application for Analyses of Synaptic Transmission and of Neuronal Network Activity in Behavior

Amelie Bergs, Thilo Henss, Caspar Glock, Jatin Nagpal, and Alexander Gottschalk

7. Optogenetic Perturbation of Individual C. elegans Pharyngeal Neurons while Monitoring Feeding Behavior

Nicholas F. Trojanowski and Christopher Fang-Yen

8. Antibody Staining for Nematodes with Heat-Induced Antigen Retrieval (HIAR)

Curtis M. Loer

9. ExCel: Super-Resolution Imaging of C. elegans with Expansion Microscopy

Chih-Chieh (Jay) Yu, Danielle M. Orozco Cosio, and Edward S. Boyden

10. A Fusion-PCR Method for Expressing Genetic Tools in C. elegans

Eduard Bokman, Yifat Eliezer, and Alon Zaslaver

11. Approaches for CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing in C. elegans

Charlotte J. Martin and John A. Calarco

12. Targeted and Random Transposon-Assisted Single-Copy Transgene Insertion in C. elegans

Sonia El Mouridi and Christian Frokjaer-Jensen

13. Mutation Mapping and Identification by Whole-Genome Sequencing

Harold E. Smith

14. Lipid Extraction and Analysis

Henry H. Harrison and Jennifer L. Watts

15. Isolating Caenorhabditis elegans from the Natural Habitat

Clotilde Gimond, Nausicaa Poullet, and Christian Braendle

16. Microfluidic Devices for Behavioral Analysis, Microscopy, and Neuronal Imaging in Caenorhabditis elegans

Ross C. Lagoy, Eric Larsen, Dan Lawler, Hamilton White, and Dirk R. Albrecht

17. Neuronal Microsurgery with an Yb-Doped Fiber Femtosecond Laser

Maria B. Harreguy, Tracy S. Tran, and Gal Haspel

18. An Imaging System for Monitoring C. elegans Behavior and Aging

Matthew A. Churgin and Christopher Fang-Yen

19. Methods for Modulating and Measuring Neuromuscular Exertion in C. elegans

Kiley J. Hughes and Andres G. Vidal-Gadea

20. Recording and Quantifying C. elegans Behavior

Navin Pokala and Steven W. Flavell

21. Primer on Mathematical Modeling in C. elegans

Ayush Ranawade and Erel Levine