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Comparing Caenorhabditis Elegans Gentle And Harsh Touch Response Behavior Using A Multiplexed Hydraulic Microfluidic Device, Patrick D. Mcclanahan, Joyce Xu, Christopher Fang-Yen
Comparing Caenorhabditis Elegans Gentle And Harsh Touch Response Behavior Using A Multiplexed Hydraulic Microfluidic Device, Patrick D. Mcclanahan, Joyce Xu, Christopher Fang-Yen
Christopher Fang-Yen
The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is an important model system for understanding the genetics and physiology of touch. Classical assays for C. elegans touch, which involve manually touching the animal with a probe and observing its response, are limited by their low throughput and qualitative nature. We developed a microfluidic device in which several dozen animals are subject to spatially localized mechanical stimuli with variable amplitude. The device contains 64 sinusoidal channels through which worms crawl, and hydraulic valves that deliver touch stimuli to the worms. We used this assay to characterize the behavioral responses to gentle touch stimuli and the …