C. elegans Lawn Avoidance Assay

Using a platinum wire pick, transfer 30 synchronized L4 stage worms to the PA14 plate. Place the worms in the middle of the PA14 bacteria lawn. In this study, for each condition, two plates were tested.

Place the two plates on the elevated stage of the recording apparatus with the lid facing down such that the agar side is facing up toward the camera. On the smartphone screen, tap where the plate is, so the camera can focus on the assay plates. Start the recording, then add more plates to the stage.

Record for 20 hours from the last set of plates placed on the stage. In the final time-lapse video, 20 hours of recording will result in a 20-minute-long video. Wild-type N2 worms were compared against npr-1 mutants.

The wild-type worms progressively left the bacterial lawn and stayed outside. Worms outside the thick bacterial lawn were clearly seen in the video, but worms inside the bacterial lawn were harder to distinguish.