title: High-throughput behavioral analysis in C. elegans.
abstract: We designed a real-time computer vision system, the Multi-Worm Tracker (MWT), which can simultaneously quantify the behavior of dozens of Caenorhabditis elegans on a Petri plate at video rates. We examined three traditional behavioral paradigms using this system: spontaneous movement on food, where the behavior changes over tens of minutes; chemotaxis, where turning events must be detected accurately to determine strategy; and habituation of response to tap, where the response is stochastic and changes over time. In each case, manual analysis or automated single-worm tracking would be tedious and time-consuming, but the MWT system allowed rapid quantification of behavior with minimal human effort. Thus, this system will enable large-scale forward and reverse genetic screens for complex behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Swierczek
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: Catharine H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Rankin
authors.forename: Rex A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002633:Chemotaxis; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D009068:Movement; D012984:Software; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D013997:Time Factors