Untwisting the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo Journal Article


Authors: Christensen, R. P.; Bokinsky, A.; Santella, A.; Wu, Y.; Marquina-Solis, J.; Guo, M.; Kovacevic, I.; Kumar, A.; Winter, P. W.; Tashakkori, N.; McCreedy, E.; Liu, H.; McAuliffe, M.; Mohler, W.; Colón-Ramos, D. A.; Bao, Z.; Shroff, H.
Article Title: Untwisting the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo
Abstract: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans possesses a simple embryonic nervous system with few enough neurons that the growth of each cell could be followed to provide a systems-level view of development. However, studies of single cell development have largely been conducted in fixed or pre-twitching live embryos, because of technical difficulties associated with embryo movement in late embryogenesis. We present open-source untwisting and annotation software (http://mipav.cit.nih.gov/plugin_jws/mipav_worm_plugin.php) that allows the investigation of neurodevelopmental events in late embryogenesis and apply it to track the 3D positions of seam cell nuclei, neurons, and neurites in multiple elongating embryos. We also provide a tutorial describing how to use the software (Supplementary file 1) and a detailed description of the untwisting algorithm (Appendix). The detailed positional information we obtained enabled us to develop a composite model showing movement of these cells and neurites in an ’average’ worm embryo. The untwisting and cell tracking capabilities of our method provide a foundation on which to catalog C. elegans neurodevelopment, allowing interrogation of developmental events in previously inaccessible periods of embryogenesis. © 2015, eLife Sciences Publications Ltd, All rights reserved.
Keywords: nonhuman; cell maturation; embryo; embryo development; publication; appendix; caenorhabditis elegans; cell nucleus; software; nervous system development; model; cell tracking; neurite
Journal Title: eLife
Volume: 4
ISSN: 2050-084X
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd.  
Date Published: 2015-12-03
Start Page: e10070
Language: English
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.10070
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC4764590
PUBMED: 26633880
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 2 November 2016 -- Source: Scopus
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  1. Zhirong Bao
    56 Bao