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Cultivation of Caenorhabditis elegans on new cheap monoxenic media without peptone

Open Access
|Jan 2021

Figures & Tables

Figure 1:

Schematic of media preference assay. OP50-seeded plugs of the eight indicated NcMs (grey circles) are placed onto a 9 cm-diameter plain agar plate 1 h before the preference assay. At the start of the assay, 30 well-fed young adult F2 worms are placed within the center circle (CT) and then allowed to migrate. After 2 h, the locations of the worms were recorded.
Schematic of media preference assay. OP50-seeded plugs of the eight indicated NcMs (grey circles) are placed onto a 9 cm-diameter plain agar plate 1 h before the preference assay. At the start of the assay, 30 well-fed young adult F2 worms are placed within the center circle (CT) and then allowed to migrate. After 2 h, the locations of the worms were recorded.

Figure 2:

Brood sizes of C. elegans and C. tropicalis on test media and the NGM control. (A) The total self-brood sizes of C. elegans are presented as means ± 1 SE. Brood sizes differed among the media (P < 2e−16, F = 97.0, one-way ANOVA test). The Dunnett’s post-hoc test was used for brood-size comparisons of the test media against the NGM control (***
P < 0.001; n.s, not significant, i.e., P  > 0.05), see Table S1 for exact P-values. Chl, cholesterol. (B) The total self-brood sizes of C. tropicalis differed among the 3 NcMs and NGM (P = 6.3e−10, F = 17.9, one-way ANOVA test). The Dunnett’s post-hoc test is used for brood-size comparisons of the media against the NGM control (***
P < 0.001; *P < 0.5), see Table S2 for exact P-values. Note: The standard errors (SE) and error bars for each data set are the SE among P0 batches and not the SE across individual P0s.
Brood sizes of C. elegans and C. tropicalis on test media and the NGM control. (A) The total self-brood sizes of C. elegans are presented as means ± 1 SE. Brood sizes differed among the media (P < 2e−16, F = 97.0, one-way ANOVA test). The Dunnett’s post-hoc test was used for brood-size comparisons of the test media against the NGM control (*** P < 0.001; n.s, not significant, i.e., P  > 0.05), see Table S1 for exact P-values. Chl, cholesterol. (B) The total self-brood sizes of C. tropicalis differed among the 3 NcMs and NGM (P = 6.3e−10, F = 17.9, one-way ANOVA test). The Dunnett’s post-hoc test is used for brood-size comparisons of the media against the NGM control (*** P < 0.001; *P < 0.5), see Table S2 for exact P-values. Note: The standard errors (SE) and error bars for each data set are the SE among P0 batches and not the SE across individual P0s.

Figure 3:

Lifespan assays of C. elegans and C. tropicalis on different media and the NGM control. (A) C. elegans worms grown on NcM9, NcM20, and NcM25 survived longer than on the NGM control (all P ≤ 0.01, log-rank test), while worms grown on NcM6, NcM8, NcM12, and NcM18 had similar lifespans as the control (P ≥ 0.1, log-rank test). Detailed lifespan data are in Tables S3 and S4. (B) C. tropicalis worms grown on NcM6 and NcM12 have similar lifespans as the NGM control (both P > 0.05, log-rank test), while worms grown on NcM18 have shorter lifespans than the control (P < 2e−5, log-rank test), see Tables S5 and S6.
Lifespan assays of C. elegans and C. tropicalis on different media and the NGM control. (A) C. elegans worms grown on NcM9, NcM20, and NcM25 survived longer than on the NGM control (all P ≤ 0.01, log-rank test), while worms grown on NcM6, NcM8, NcM12, and NcM18 had similar lifespans as the control (P ≥ 0.1, log-rank test). Detailed lifespan data are in Tables S3 and S4. (B) C. tropicalis worms grown on NcM6 and NcM12 have similar lifespans as the NGM control (both P > 0.05, log-rank test), while worms grown on NcM18 have shorter lifespans than the control (P < 2e−5, log-rank test), see Tables S5 and S6.

Figure 4:

Media preference assays. Plots are the percentage of the worms located on the media destinations 2 hours after placing worms in the center of the test assay plates. GLM was used to analyze the correlation between the destinations and percentages of worms migrating to the destinations for all the seven-media sources (P = 1.0) and 10 destination-groups (P = 0.342, see more in Table S7). Dunnett’s post-hoc test was used to analyze P-values for each media destination group (in this figure) or each media destination in comparison with the source and NGM (Table S8). Names of media sources are labeled at the top of each subplot. X-axis, names of media destinations; CT, center; in every assay, a small number of tested worms are not observed (“Lost”).
Media preference assays. Plots are the percentage of the worms located on the media destinations 2 hours after placing worms in the center of the test assay plates. GLM was used to analyze the correlation between the destinations and percentages of worms migrating to the destinations for all the seven-media sources (P = 1.0) and 10 destination-groups (P = 0.342, see more in Table S7). Dunnett’s post-hoc test was used to analyze P-values for each media destination group (in this figure) or each media destination in comparison with the source and NGM (Table S8). Names of media sources are labeled at the top of each subplot. X-axis, names of media destinations; CT, center; in every assay, a small number of tested worms are not observed (“Lost”).

Figure 5:

Growth assays of C. elegans on a natural bacterial strain, Acinetobacter sp. CFBb9. (A) The total brood sizes of worms differed among the four different types of media (P < 2e−16, F = 175.8, one-way ANOVA test), with that of worms growing on NcM6, NcM12, or NcM18 being lower than on NGM (***P < 0.001, Dunnett’s post-hoc test), see Table S9 for exact P-values. The standard errors (SE) and error bars for each data set are the SE among P0 batches and not the SE across individual P0s. (B) Worms grown on NcM6, NcM12, and NcM18 have longer lifespans than on NGM (all P < 0.001, log-rank test), see Table S10 for exact P-values.
Growth assays of C. elegans on a natural bacterial strain, Acinetobacter sp. CFBb9. (A) The total brood sizes of worms differed among the four different types of media (P < 2e−16, F = 175.8, one-way ANOVA test), with that of worms growing on NcM6, NcM12, or NcM18 being lower than on NGM (***P < 0.001, Dunnett’s post-hoc test), see Table S9 for exact P-values. The standard errors (SE) and error bars for each data set are the SE among P0 batches and not the SE across individual P0s. (B) Worms grown on NcM6, NcM12, and NcM18 have longer lifespans than on NGM (all P < 0.001, log-rank test), see Table S10 for exact P-values.

Lifespan of C_ tropicalis on 4 different media_

MediaNumber of tested hermaphroditesLifespan (days) Mean ± SELog-rank P-value
NGM10714.96 ± 0.42Control
NcM67116.35 ± 0.510.4
NcM127615.49 ± 0.531.0
NcM1813312.3 ± 0.351.3e−05

Number of surviving C_ elegans worms on Acinetobacter sp_ CFBb9 at each day of the lifespan assays_

Number of surviving worms
DayNGMNcM6NcM12NcM18
190968392
290968392
390968392
490968392
586968392
686968392
786958392
885957787
985937386
1085936986
1181936885
1264916083
1346916083
1429916074
1515815969
166715862
173645860
180595651
19 515136
20 415025
21 284717
22 8369
23 5151
24 010
25 0

Number of surviving C_ elegans worms on 8 different media at each day of the lifespan assays_

Number of surviving worms
DayNGMNcM6NcM8NcM9NcM12NcM18NcM20NcM25
17370723466506357
27370723466506357
37370723466506357
47370723466506357
57269723466496357
67269723465496357
77069703464486255
87069703464486154
97068703462465952
106768633261465952
116368553160455851
125862483057425651
135255413054395251
144642363049335150
153323323037174749
162112183026133639
1712514281592838
181148281162133
19103728751430
2062327341028
215132102717
2220116 129
232 114 118
242 111 105
251 17 1 0
260 04 1
27 3 1
28 2 1
29 2 0
30 1
31 0
Censored710861451723

Media components of NcMs and NGM_

Source of cholesterola
Plant cooking oilChicken eggPig fatMushroomSoil
Component (Amount/ L)NcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcM
Plant cooking oil (100 µL)ѴѴѴѴѴѴ
Chicken egg (0.56 g) ѴѴѴѴѴѴ
Pig fat (0.4 g) ѴѴѴѴѴѴ
Autoclaved mushroom solution (20 mL) Ѵ Ѵ Ѵ Ѵ Ѵ Ѵ Ѵ Ѵ ѴѴѴѴ
Non-autoclaved mushroom solution (20 mL) ѴѴѴ
Pure mineral mixture (1 mL of 1 M CaCl2, 1 mL of 1 M MgSO4, 25 mL of 1 M KPO4)ѴѴ ѴѴ ѴѴ Ѵ Ѵ
Soil solution b (10 mL) ѴѴ ѴѴ ѴѴ Ѵ ѴѴ
Agar (17 g)ѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴ
NaCl (4 mL of 0.75 g/ mL)ѴѴ ѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴѴ
Media typeNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcMNcM
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

Brood sizes of C_ elegans on 25 test media and the NGM control_

MediaNumber of tested hermaphroditesTotal brood size (Mean ± SE)Dunnett’s post-hoc P-value
NGM39254.7 ± 12.8Control
NcM157144.9 ± 8.8<0.001
NcM250123.8 ± 8.7<0.001
NcM355157.5 ± 10.6<0.001
NcM455123.8 ± 14.4<0.001
NcM525142.9 ± 14.8<0.001
NcM642240.5 ± 18.00.0228
NcM717171.1 ± 18.3<0.001
NcM826265.8 ± 8.70.5468
NcM932194.5 ± 9.1<0.001
NcM1029152.3 ± 17.3<0.001
NcM1124163.9 ± 12.5<0.001
NcM1221234.0 ± 8.80.1817
NcM1350128.9 ± 14.2<0.001
NcM1447183.6 ± 7.5<0.001
NcM1543203.6 ± 7.9<0.001
NcM1640198.6 ± 9.3<0.001
NcM1738177.2 ± 17.5<0.001
NcM1844251.7 ± 16.21.0
NcM1938163.2 ± 12.9<0.001
NcM203548.7 ± 12.9<0.001
NcM2126178.9 ± 12.4<0.001
NcM2235183.4 ± 11.6<0.001
NcM2316138.4 ± 17.3<0.001
NcM2439178.7 ± 9.5<0.001
NcM2545167.0 ± 8.2<0.001

Lifespan assays of C_ elegans on 8 different media_

MediaNumber of tested hermaphroditesLifespan (days) Mean ± SELog-rank P-value
NGM7315.2 ± 0.4Control
NcM67014.8 ± 0.31.0
NcM87214.5 ± 0.41.0
NcM93421.9 ± 0.94e−09
NcM126615.6 ± 0.41.0
NcM185015.1 ± 0.51.0
NcM206316.9 ± 0.50.39
NcM255718.8 ± 0.62.4e−05

Brood size of C_ elegans on Acinetobacter sp_ CFBb9_

MediaNumber of tested hermaphroditesTotal brood size (Mean ± SE)Dunnett’s post hoc P-values
NGM29248.0 ± 9.7Control
NcM638200.2 ± 2.9<1e−10
NcM1239185.6 ± 7.7<1e−10
NcM1838227.7 ± 7.8<1e−10

Lifespan of C_ elegans on Acinetobacter sp_ CFBb9_

MediaNumber of tested hermaphroditesLifespan (days) Mean ± SELog-rank P-value
NGM9013.41 ± 0.26Control
NcM69618.97 ± 0.35<2e−16
NcM128318.81 ± 0.639.4e−16
NcM189217.93 ± 0.41<2e−16

Approximate cost of reagents for making 1 L of media or approximately one hundred 6-cm plates_

Costa (VND)
Components (amount/L)NcM6NcM8NcM12NcM18NGM
Cholesterol (1 mL of 5 mg/mL) 200
Plant cooking oil (100 µL)2
Chicken egg (0.56 g) 5656
Pig fat (0.4 g) 28
Autoclaved mushroom (20 mL)115115115115
Peptone (2.5 g) 3000
Pure mineral mixture (1 mL of 1 M CaCl2, 1 mL of 1 M MgSO4, 25 mL of 1 M KPO4) 3788 3788
Soil solution (10 mL)0 00
Agar (17 g)34,00034,00034,00034,00034,000
NaCl (4 mL of 0.75 g/ mL)3,0003,0003,0003,0003,000
Distilled water with reverse osmosis (1 L)2,0002,0002,0002,0002,000
Total cost in VND39,11742,95939,17139,14345,988
Total cost in US$b 1.701.871.701.702.00

Brood sizes of C_ tropicalis on different media and the NGM control_

MediaNumber of tested hermaphroditesTotal brood size (Mean ± SE)Dunnett’s post hoc P-values
NGM3723.3 ± 5.0Control
NcM64254.8 ± 14.6<0.001
NcM123748.2 ± 8.4<0.001
NcM183267.2 ± 15.7<0.001

Number of surviving C_ tropicalis worms on 4 different media at each day of the lifespan assays_

Number of surviving worms
DayNGMNcM6NcM12NcM18
11077176133
21077176133
31077176133
41077176133
51077176133
61077176133
71057176133
81037073112
997686791
1085636277
1181606164
1275575753
1366535244
1456474530
1546423624
1636333021
1727242120
1722201413
191715127
201313105
21710104
2241042
233542
242242
252131
262011
271 10
281 1
291 1
300 0

P-values of generalized linear model of each destination group and preference percentage_

SourceAllNcM6NcM8NcM9NcM12NcM18NcM20NcM25
P (percentage~ destination) 0.3420.8790.670.02055.84e−050.5710.21980.1003

P-values of the Dunnett’s test for media preference of C_ elegans_

SourceNcM6NcM8NcM9NcM12NcM18NcM20NcM25
ComparisonDestinationmean ± SENcM6a NGMb mean ± SENcM8a NGMb mean ± SENcM9a NGMb mean ± SENcM12a NGMb mean ± SENcM18a NGMb mean ± SENcM20a NGMb mean ± SENcM25a NGMb
NcM65.8 ± 0.7Ref<0.00110.8 ± 0.71.00.630215.8 ± 1.40.026541.015.8 ± 1.80.845290.4176414.1 ± 4.20.7230.9312.5 ± 3.00.9786<1e−056.7 ± 1.71.00.3859
NcM810.8 ± 3.40.9560.0064111.7 ± 5.3Ref0.755910.0 ± 2.60.290240.96425.8 ± 1.40.034581.09.9 ± 2.11.01.09.2 ± 1.81.0<1e−0522.5 ± 5.60.07110.9923
NcM90.8 ± 0.70.0956<0.0013.3 ± 1.20.390.3240.0 ± 0.0Ref0.05716.7 ± 3.30.050051.013.3 ± 5.00.8450.982.5 ± 1.40.174<1e−056.7 ± 2.41.00.3861
NcM129.2 ± 3.00.9970.0013917.5 ± 3.20.7561.022.5 ± 4.5<0.0010.481821.7 ± 3.6Ref0.0500810.7 ± 1.70.9971.011.7 ± 1.90.9986<1e−0515.0 ± 4.80.55340.9984
NcM189.2 ± 4.50.9970.003048.3 ± 3.40.9840.292820.8 ± 4.80.002160.712529.2 ± 7.90.633370.001428.2 ± 1.8Ref1.04.2 ± 0.70.4101<1e−051.7 ± 0.80.99840.0938
NcM207.5 ± 3.01.00.003008.3 ± 3.80.9840.29298.3 ± 0.80.481660.8212.5 ± 1.40.007310.9709614.1 ± 2.70.7310.93510.0 ± 3.1Ref<1e−0513.3 ± 4.60.73500.9756
NcM251.7 ± 0.80.985<0.0014.2 ± 1.40.5050.04912.5 ± 1.40.998810.15985.0 ± 0.80.02390.999963.3 ± 1.10.8550.612.5 ± 1.40.1741<1e−055.0 ± 2.8Ref0.2531
NGM32.5 ± 8.0<0.001Ref17.5 ± 2.50.756Ref14.2 ± 6.40.05703Ref6.7 ± 2.00.0499Ref9.9 ± 1.11.0Ref33.3 ± 3.1<0.001Ref18.3 ± 8.00.2531Ref
Center5.8 ± 3.01.0<0.0011.7 ± 1.40.2140.01370.8 ± 0.71.00.08181.7 ± 0.80.004820.922786.6 ± 3.51.00.9820.8 ± 0.70.0619<1e−050.0 ± 0.00.97560.0536
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2021-036 | Journal eISSN: 2640-396X | Journal ISSN: 0022-300X
Language: English
Page range: 1 - 23
Published on: Jan 1, 2021
Published by: Society of Nematologists, Inc.
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 times per year

© 2021 Tho Son Le, T. T. Hang Nguyen, Bui Thi Mai Huong, H. Gam Nguyen, B. Hong Ha, Van Sang Nguyen, Minh Hung Nguyen, Huy-Hoang Nguyen, John Wang, published by Society of Nematologists, Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.