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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Critical insights into conserved genetic determinants of aging have come from lifespan measurements in C. elegans. Lifespan results from complex interactions between genetic, environmental and stochastic factors, and varies widely even among isogenic individuals. The actions of molecular mechanisms on lifespan are therefore discernible only through their statistical effects on populations. To enable rapid acquisition of survival curves at high statistical resolution in C. elegans, we developed a scalable imaging and analysis system using flatbed scanners that observe nematodes over multiple weeks across square meters of agar surface at 8 μm resolution. The method generates a permanent visual record of individual deaths from which survival curves are constructed and validated, producing data consistent with the manual method for several mutants in both standard and stressful environments. In this seminar I will discuss the why and the how of this approach, which promises rapid, detailed reverse-genetic and chemical screens for effects on survival and investigations into the statistical structure of aging.
Host: Bill Hlavacek