Abstract
This chapter describes four different protocols used to assay thermotaxis navigation behavior of single, or populations of, C. elegans hermaphrodites on spatial thermal gradients within the physiological temperature range (15-25°C). A method to assay avoidance of noxious temperatures is also described.
Highlights
As first described by Hedgecock and Russell (Hedgecock and Russell, 1975), C. elegans exhibits complex and experience-dependent navigation behaviors on spatial thermal gradients
At T>Tc, animals move down the gradient towards colder temperatures in a behavior called negative thermotaxis; at temperatures around Tc, animals track isotherms; at T
It has become clear that the specific assay conditions and the method used for quantifying the results greatly influence the outcome of thermotaxis behavioral assays (Beverly et al, 2011; Jurado et al, 2010; Ramot et al, 2008)
Summary
As first described by Hedgecock and Russell (Hedgecock and Russell, 1975), C. elegans exhibits complex and experience-dependent navigation behaviors on spatial thermal gradients. The thermal preference assay (Hedgecock and Russell, 1975) captures the combined effects of both thermotaxis (a biased random walk) and isothermal tracking (reviewed by Garrity et al, 2010; Hedgecock and Russell, 1975; Kimata et al, 2012) by exposing a population of animals grown at temperatures between 15 and 25°C to a stable, one-dimensional, linear thermal gradient between 15°C and 25°C This protocol describes an updated implementation of this assay (Ramot et al, 2008) that uses thermoelectric coolers to establish stable, well-controlled, and adjustable linear thermal gradients
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