• The Korean Journal of Mycology
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.54-59
• /
• 2012

This study investigates the effect of ${\beta}$-glucans on the growth of Caenorhabditis elegans. Comparison was made among lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and ${\beta}$-glucans extracted from Phellinus baumii, in the presence of peptidoglycans which is available as the major carbon source from OP50, a non-pathogenic strain of Escherichia coli. When the three sources of carbohydrate were added singularly or in mixture to the culture media, a significant level of variation was observed with respect to fecundity. Addition of ${\beta}$-glucans appeared to increase the fecundity. When ${\beta}$-glucans was reinforced in the culture media, the fecundity increased at least 20 percent compared to the OP50-only media which exclusively contains peptidoglycans. In terms of life span, C. elegans showed a modest reduction when treated especially with ${\beta}$-glucans. C. elegans accumulated less fat in the ${\beta}$-glucans containing media different from the OP50 media. Based on the Sudan black staining, fat deposition significantly decreased corresponding to the ${\beta}$-glucans content in the media. On LPS-supplemented media, no difference was observed in fat deposition compared to the normal OP50 media. At the level of motility, ${\beta}$-glucans-treated worms moved more distance as well as LPS-treated worm. They also showed a comparable degree of motility under similar treatment with each source of carbohydrate. In conclusion, LPS and ${\beta}$-glucans, extracted from P. baumii, may not entirely replace the food required for C. elegans; however, it might be utilized as valuable alternative food source which C. elegans use as forms of carbohydrates in stead of peptidoglycan of OP50.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.125-130
• /
• 2012

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely used model organism in biological research. Thanks to the availability of well-established knowledge about its neural connectivity, a wide range of studies have been attempted to uncover the relationship between behaviors and the responsible neurons. In our research, the adaptive behavior of C. elegans in solid environments with different surface rigidities is investigated, where the worm adapts to different mechanical stiffnesses by modulating its crawling waveform. The amplitude and wavelength of the crawling waveform decrease as the environment becomes more rigid. Interestingly, the mechanosensation-defective mutant shows different responses to the surface rigidity compared to those of the wild-type worm. To explain the adaptation process in mechanically different environments, we suggest a plausible neural circuit model.

• The Proceeding of the Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.21-32
• /
• 2010

60 Hz 자기장에서 예쁜꼬마선충(C. elegans)의 발생 및 생식에 미치는 영향을 조사하였다. 자기장 노출 조건은 $0{\sim}500\;{\mu}T$이며, 실험 온도는 선충의 일반적 배양 온도 범위($2 1.2{\pm}0.6^{\circ}C$)에서 일정하게 유지하였으며, 노출은 선충의 배양 기간 동안 지속되었다. C. elegas 야생형 N2 및 스트레스에 민감한 hsf-1와 crt-1 등의 돌연변이체들에서 실험에 사용한 노출 조건에 따른 생식력의 차이는 없었다. 여러 세대에 걸쳐 자기장에 노출한 경우에도 자기장에 의한 생식력의 변화는 없었다. 결론적으로, C. elegans는 크기가 매우 작으므로(길이 약 1 mm) 유도전류가 적게 발생하여, 자기장($-500\;{\mu}T$)에 의한 영향이 없는 것으로 사려된다.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.7
• /
• pp.903-909
• /
• 2021

Caenorhabditis elegans whose DNA sequence was completely identified is a representative species used in various research fields such as gene functional analysis and animal behavioral research. In the mean time, many researches on the bio-monitoring system to determine whether water is contaminated or not by using the swimming activities of nematodes. In this paper, we show the possibility of using the swimming activities of C. elegans in the development of a machine learning based bio-monitoring system which identifies chemicals that cause water pollution. To characterize swimming activities of nematode, BLS entropy is computed for the nematode in a frame. And, BLS entropy profile, an assembly of entropies, are classified into several patterns using clustering algorithms. Finally these patterns are used to construct data sets. We recorded images of swimming behavior of nematodes in the arenas in which formaldehyde, benzene and toluene were added at a concentration of 0.1 ppm, respectively, and evaluate the performance of the developed HMM.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.22-27
• /
• 2015

Caenorhabditis elegans (C.elegans) has various interesting behavioral properties, such as chemotaxis, thermotaxis, and electrotaxis. However, most previous research were only focused on single-stimulus for studying its behavioral properties. In this paper, we propose a simple and effective device for analyzing the behavior of C.elegans with combined stimuli, electric field and temperature. We compared and analyzed wild type worms (N2) and four mutant worms (tax-4, ttx-7, unc-54, unc-6). We analyzed the reaction of worms to certain stimulus and identified that this device is effective to apply a combined stimulus.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.18-22
• /
• 2014

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is an undulatory nematode which exhibits two distinct locomotion types of swimming and crawling. Although in its natural habitat C. elegans lives in a non-Newtonian fluidic environment, our current understanding has been limited to the behavior of C. elegans in a simple Newtonian fluid. Here, we present some experimental results on the penetrating behavior of C. elegans at the interface from liquid to solid environment. Once C. elegans, which otherwise swims freely in a liquid, makes a contact to the solid gel boundary, it begins to penetrate vertically to the surface by changing its stroke motion characterized by a stiffer body shape and a slow stroke frequency. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) analysis reveals the flow streamlines produced by the stroke of worm. For the worm that crawls on a solid surface, we utilize a technique of traction force microscopy (TFM) to find that the crawling nematode forms localized force islands along the body where makes direct contacts to the gel surface.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.39-39
• /
• 2015

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.54 no.2
• /
• pp.66-71
• /
• 2023

Ethyl acetate (EA) soluble fraction of the Berberis amurensis (Berberidaceae) methanol extract showed the potent DPPH radical scavenging activity through Caenorhabditis elegans model system. The EA fraction was measured for the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and oxidative stress tolerance by using C. elegans along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. In addition, SOD-3 expression was conducted using a transgenic strain (CF1553) to confirm that the regulation of the stress response gene is responsible for the increased stress tolerance of C. elegans treated by the EA fraction. As a result, the EA soluble fraction of B. amurensis increased SOD and catalase activity, and decreased ROS accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the EA fraction-treated CF1553 worm showed higher SOD-3::GFP intensity than the control worm.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.29 no.10
• /
• pp.1120-1125
• /
• 2019

The short-lived nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been used as a model organism for many studies, including lifespan extension. To screen common seaweeds for natural anti-aging agents, the lifespan of C. elegans (N2 wild-type strain) was measured by its hatch rate, growth rate, survival rate, chemotaxis, brood size, and egg-laying time after exposure to nematode growth medium (NGM) containing seaweed extracts. Approximately 30 animals synchronized at the first larval stage were incubated until they reached their adult stages before laying their eggs and were transferred to fresh NGM every 3 days. We also identified the major active compound from the seaweed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested its optimal dose for longevity. Of 13 common seaweed species, an ethanol extract of the brown seaweed Hizikia fusiformis showed the greatest effect on hatching, growth, and survival rates. The lifespan of C. elegans was significantly expanded 1.54-fold and 1.23-fold in the presence of the ethanol extract (0.05 mg/ml) and the main active component, fucosterol (0.05 mg/ml), respectively. Exposure to the ethanol extract also increased chemotaxis 1.13-fold, decreased brood size 0.74-fold, and shortened egg-laying time 0.96-fold. These results suggest that the aquaculturable H. fusiformis may be a promising source of a diet supplement to support health care.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.115-121
• /
• 2020

Caenorhabditis elegans model system was used to investigate the antioxidant activity of methanol extract of Mallotus japonicus twigs. The ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the M. japonicus methanol extract showed the best DPPH radical scavenging activity. The ethyl acetate fraction was measured for the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and oxidative stress tolerance by using C. elegans along with reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. In addition, to confirm that the regulation of the stress response gene is responsible for the increased stress tolerance of C. elegans treated by the ethyl acetate fraction, SOD-3 expression was measured using a transgenic strain. As a result, the ethyl acetate fraction increased SOD and catalase activity, and decreased ROS accumulation in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the ethyl acetate fraction-treated CF1553 worm showed higher SOD-3::GFP intensity than the control worm.