In Vivo Calcium Imaging in C. elegans Body Wall Muscles

This protocol provides two methods to mobilize C.Elegans to perform in vivo calcium imaging of body wall muscles. This method can help answer questions related to calcium homeostasis and calcium handling, and an accessible synapse in genetically tractable organism. This technique can provide a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating muscle calcium homeostasis, and can, therefore, be important in identifying conditions or molecular pathways that impact excitation contraction coupling through the misregulation of calcium cycling.

These methods can provide insight into areas of research including, but not limited too, neurobiology, developmental biology, and cell biology. These techniques could be adapted to study a variety of cell types and C.elegans, other related nematodes as well as filsafat larvae. Visual demonstration of this method is critical so the experimenter can understand the dissection technique, and be able to accurately assess calcium transients from properly immobilized animals.