Imaging adult C. elegans live using light-sheet microscopy. 2021

J VAN Krugten, and K-K H Taris, and Erwin J G Peterman
LaserLaB and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Live observation of biological phenomena in the context of living organisms can provide important insights in the mechanisms of these phenomena. However, the spatially complex and dynamic physiology of multicellular organisms can be a challenging environment to make observations with fluorescence microscopy. Due to the illumination of out-of-focus planes, confocal and particularly widefield fluorescence microscopy suffer from low signal-to-background ratio (SBR), photo toxicity and bleaching of fluorescent probes. In light-sheet microscopy (LSM), solely the focal plane of the detection objective is illuminated, minimising out-of-focus fluorescence and photobleaching, thereby enhancing SBR, allowing for low laser intensities and longer acquisition periods. Here we present a straightforward light-sheet microscope with a 1.0-NA detection objective and a fast sample-positioning stage that allows for four degrees of freedom. By imaging the sensory cilia and nervous system of living young adult C. elegans, we demonstrate that the instrument is well suited for relatively fast, volumetric imaging of larger (hundreds of micrometres cubed) living samples. These experiments demonstrate that such an instrument provides a valuable addition to commonly used widefield and confocal fluorescence microscopes. LAY DESCRIPTION: In fluorescence microscopy, sharp images can only be obtained when the light obtained from the section of the image that is in focus is not overwhelmed by light emerging from elsewhere. In this paper, we present a light-sheet fluorescence microscope, based on the OpenSPIM initiative, with a magnification of 90× and a sensitive sample positioning stage that allows for fast controlled linear movement and rotation. In a light-sheet microscope (LSM), the sample is illuminated from the side, compared to the direction of detection, limiting illumination only to the part of the sample that is imaged in the focal plane (general resources: Wikipedia or MicroscopyU). This does not only limit background noise, but also reduces damage to the sample due to phototoxicity. This makes a LSM particularly suitable for imaging living samples at high resolution, in three dimensions, over long periods of time. Our instrument was specifically designed for imaging adult C. elegans nematodes. We show here how the instrument compares to a standard epifluorescence microscope, imaging neuronal structures in the animals. The instrument proved well suited for fast volumetric imaging of larger cellular structures such as C. elegans neuronal cell bodies. Our experiments show that the instrument provides a valuable addition to widefield and confocal fluorescence microscopes commonly used to image adult C. elegans.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007834 Lasers An optical source that emits photons in a coherent beam. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER) is brought about using devices that transform light of varying frequencies into a single intense, nearly nondivergent beam of monochromatic radiation. Lasers operate in the infrared, visible, ultraviolet, or X-ray regions of the spectrum. Masers,Continuous Wave Lasers,Pulsed Lasers,Q-Switched Lasers,Continuous Wave Laser,Laser,Laser, Continuous Wave,Laser, Pulsed,Laser, Q-Switched,Lasers, Continuous Wave,Lasers, Pulsed,Lasers, Q-Switched,Maser,Pulsed Laser,Q Switched Lasers,Q-Switched Laser
D008856 Microscopy, Fluorescence Microscopy of specimens stained with fluorescent dye (usually fluorescein isothiocyanate) or of naturally fluorescent materials, which emit light when exposed to ultraviolet or blue light. Immunofluorescence microscopy utilizes antibodies that are labeled with fluorescent dye. Fluorescence Microscopy,Immunofluorescence Microscopy,Microscopy, Immunofluorescence,Fluorescence Microscopies,Immunofluorescence Microscopies,Microscopies, Fluorescence,Microscopies, Immunofluorescence
D005456 Fluorescent Dyes Chemicals that emit light after excitation by light. The wave length of the emitted light is usually longer than that of the incident light. Fluorochromes are substances that cause fluorescence in other substances, i.e., dyes used to mark or label other compounds with fluorescent tags. Flourescent Agent,Fluorescent Dye,Fluorescent Probe,Fluorescent Probes,Fluorochrome,Fluorochromes,Fluorogenic Substrates,Fluorescence Agents,Fluorescent Agents,Fluorogenic Substrate,Agents, Fluorescence,Agents, Fluorescent,Dyes, Fluorescent,Probes, Fluorescent,Substrates, Fluorogenic
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D017173 Caenorhabditis elegans A species of nematode that is widely used in biological, biochemical, and genetic studies. Caenorhabditis elegan,elegan, Caenorhabditis
D038761 Photobleaching Light-induced change in a chromophore, resulting in the loss of its absorption of light of a particular wave length. The photon energy causes a conformational change in the photoreceptor proteins affecting PHOTOTRANSDUCTION. This occurs naturally in the retina (ADAPTATION, OCULAR) on long exposure to bright light. Photobleaching presents problems when occurring in PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY, and in FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY. On the other hand, this phenomenon is exploited in the technique, FLUORESCENCE RECOVERY AFTER PHOTOBLEACHING, allowing measurement of the movements of proteins and LIPIDS in the CELL MEMBRANE.

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