title: DevStaR: high-throughput quantification of C. elegans developmental stages.
abstract: We present DevStaR, an automated computer vision and machine learning system that provides rapid, accurate, and quantitative measurements of C. elegans embryonic viability in high-throughput (HTP) applications. A leading genetic model organism for the study of animal development and behavior, C. elegans is particularly amenable to HTP functional genomic analysis due to its small size and ease of cultivation, but the lack of efficient and quantitative methods to score phenotypes has become a major bottleneck. DevStaR addresses this challenge using a novel hierarchical object recognition machine that rapidly segments, classifies, and counts animals at each developmental stage in images of mixed-stage populations of C. elegans. Here, we describe the algorithmic design of the DevStaR system and demonstrate its performance in scoring image data acquired in HTP screens.
authors.forename: Amelia G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Brandon
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lees
authors.forename: Huey-Ling
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: P Giselle
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Cipriani
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Munarriz
authors.forename: Annalise B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Paaby
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Sherly
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guzman
authors.forename: Kirk
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rattanakorn
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sontag
authors.forename: Davi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Geiger
authors.forename: Kristin C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Gunsalus
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piano
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D008853:Microscopy; D010641:Phenotype