Chemotaxis assay with Butanone

Model Organism: Worms Scientific Discussion
1

Hi,

I was trying Butanone Chemotaxis assay with normal N2 worms. I maintained worms at 20 degree in a NGM plate containing HB101. For assay, I used day1 young adult (total animals=100-150). The assay plate is a 90 mm plate with 1.6% agar in 5 mM potassium phosphate pH 6.0, 1 mM Cacl2, 1mM MgSO4. Butanone dilution: 1:1000 (in 95% EtOH). For control spot I use 95% EtOH. Assay time was 2 hrs at 20 degree. However, I am achieving chemotaxis index= 0.4, while in many published articles it is close to 0.8.

Please advice me how can I increase CI?

Thanks in advance.

2

i have been working on chemotaxis for quiet sometime now (although unsuccessfully). A naive chemotaxis index for 1:10 butanone is only about 0.2-0.3. Its only after you associate butanone with food you get about 0.8 chemotaxis index.
Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21445035