Work

Rearing C. elegans on Parafilm-wrapped NGM Plates Impacts Habituation Behavior

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Scientists use Parafilm to seal Caenorhabditis elegans cultures on Nematode Growth Media (NGM) petri plates for short-term storage to reduce the likelihood of contamination and improve moisture retention. However, we found that maintaining worms on plates wrapped with Parafilm can affect multiple behavioral metrics when assaying tap-habituation behavior using the Multi-Worm Tracker (MWT). Most notably, worms cultured on parafilm-wrapped NGM plates exhibited slower speed of initial response to tap followed by marked sensitization. These findings suggest that labs should be conscious of the possibility that Parafilm may induce behavioral changes in C. elegans when conducting experiments.

Source: PubMed Central

DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000760

Authors: Jessica Chalissery, Isabel Wilson, Catharine Rankin, Joseph Liang

Institutions: University of British Columbia, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health

Language: English

Topic: Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

OpenAlex ID: W4366242876