Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion
Nowadays, various artificial vision-based machines automate the lifespan assays of <i>C. elegans</i>. These automated machines present wider variability in results than manual assays because in the latter worms can be poked one by one to determine whether they are alive or not. Lifespan...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/5981 |
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| author | Joan Carles Puchalt Pablo E. Layana Castro Antonio-José Sánchez-Salmerón |
| author_facet | Joan Carles Puchalt Pablo E. Layana Castro Antonio-José Sánchez-Salmerón |
| author_sort | Joan Carles Puchalt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nowadays, various artificial vision-based machines automate the lifespan assays of <i>C. elegans</i>. These automated machines present wider variability in results than manual assays because in the latter worms can be poked one by one to determine whether they are alive or not. Lifespan machines normally use a “dead or alive criterion” based on nematode position or pose changes, without poking worms. However, worms barely move on their last days of life, even though they are still alive. Therefore, a long monitoring period is necessary to observe motility in order to guarantee worms are actually dead, or a stimulus to prompt worm movement is required to reduce the lifespan variability measure. Here, a new automated vibrotaxis-based method for lifespan machines is proposed as a solution to prompt a motion response in all worms cultured on standard Petri plates in order to better distinguish between live and dead individuals. This simple automated method allows the stimulation of all animals through the whole plate at the same time and intensity, increasing the experiment throughput. The experimental results exhibited improved live-worm detection using this method, and most live nematodes (>93%) reacted to the vibration stimulus. This method increased machine sensitivity by decreasing results variance by approximately one half (from <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>±</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> individual error per plate to <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>±</mo><mn>0.6</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and error in lifespan curve was reduced as well (from <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>2.6</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1.2</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:25:06Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:25:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
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| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-e71be68de3ec4a2b9eeb21896a788bf32023-11-20T18:08:02ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-10-012021598110.3390/s20215981Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death CriterionJoan Carles Puchalt0Pablo E. Layana Castro1Antonio-José Sánchez-Salmerón2Instituto de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, SpainInstituto de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, SpainInstituto de Automática e Informática Industrial, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, SpainNowadays, various artificial vision-based machines automate the lifespan assays of <i>C. elegans</i>. These automated machines present wider variability in results than manual assays because in the latter worms can be poked one by one to determine whether they are alive or not. Lifespan machines normally use a “dead or alive criterion” based on nematode position or pose changes, without poking worms. However, worms barely move on their last days of life, even though they are still alive. Therefore, a long monitoring period is necessary to observe motility in order to guarantee worms are actually dead, or a stimulus to prompt worm movement is required to reduce the lifespan variability measure. Here, a new automated vibrotaxis-based method for lifespan machines is proposed as a solution to prompt a motion response in all worms cultured on standard Petri plates in order to better distinguish between live and dead individuals. This simple automated method allows the stimulation of all animals through the whole plate at the same time and intensity, increasing the experiment throughput. The experimental results exhibited improved live-worm detection using this method, and most live nematodes (>93%) reacted to the vibration stimulus. This method increased machine sensitivity by decreasing results variance by approximately one half (from <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>±</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> individual error per plate to <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>±</mo><mn>0.6</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) and error in lifespan curve was reduced as well (from <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>2.6</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula><math display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>1.2</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>).https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/5981image processinglifespan automation<i>C. elegans</i> |
| spellingShingle | Joan Carles Puchalt Pablo E. Layana Castro Antonio-José Sánchez-Salmerón Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion Sensors image processing lifespan automation <i>C. elegans</i> |
| title | Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion |
| title_full | Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion |
| title_fullStr | Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion |
| title_short | Reducing Results Variance in Lifespan Machines: An Analysis of the Influence of Vibrotaxis on Wild-Type <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> for the Death Criterion |
| title_sort | reducing results variance in lifespan machines an analysis of the influence of vibrotaxis on wild type i caenorhabditis elegans i for the death criterion |
| topic | image processing lifespan automation <i>C. elegans</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/21/5981 |
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