Effect of Temperature on N2 and unc-2 strains of Caenorhabditis elegans Locomotion

Abstract

Temperature sensitive receptors play a key role in the survival of Caenorhabditis elegans. To gain insight into the role these receptors play, we explored the effects of temperature on distance travelled in 5 minutes by N2 wild type and unc-2 mutant C. elegans. The movements of four random N2 wild type and unc-2 mutant C. elegans were observed and measured through the use of the DinoXcope and ImageJ programs at temperatures of 11°C, 17°C, and 25°C. The mean distances travelled by the wild type were 40.5 mm, 39.1 mm, and 11.4 mm, and we measured 9.05 mm, 3.01 mm, and 3.30 mm for the mutant at the respective temperatures. As predicted, the N2 wild type worms were more motile than the unc-2 mutant, and the use of t-tests confirmed that these differences were significant (p = 0.04 for 11°C, p = 0.01 for 17°C). 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant difference between 17°C and 25°C for N2 wild type whereas for unc-2 mutant, there was a significantly more movement at 11°C than 17°C. The results for the wild type suggest that C. elegans' locomotion increases as it approaches its optimal temperature of 17°C while unc-2 mutants appear to have a much lower preferential temperature due to the knockout of the unc-2 gene, which is needed for the proper function of ADF neurons for physical movement.