I am looking for a strain of C. elegans that will express gfp “brightly” and a recommendation for lights and filters to see it. My hopes are that it is not too pricey and is safe in terms of eye protection.
Does anyone know of a strain of C. elegans that has gfp and OD 10 (cannot sense diacetyl)?
I would suggest using the strain CZ1200 ((juIs76 [unc-25p::GFP + lin-15(+)])
It carries an integrated unc-25::gfp transgene, expressed specifically in the GABAergic neurons and localizes to cell bodies, axonal branches, and synaptic regions
However I dont know about its behavior towards diacetyl.
If you look in the Genetics tab of the gene page of any gene required for diacetyl sensation, you will find a list of strains WormBase knows about annotated with that gene (usually a mutation in that gene, sometimes a transgene containing some of that gene). I looked at a couple of genes I know to be required for diacetyl sensation, and it appears the CGC didn’t have strains with mutations in those genes and gfp reporters of any kind (the strains WormBase knows about are I think mostly strains deposited in the CGC). So, there’s a couple of things you can do:
- Look at more gene pages! I only looked at a few (che-3, odr-1, odr-3, odr-10), and that’s because I was doing it quickly and because I’ve never worked on chemosensation and those were the ones I could rapidly think of off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s more you could check.
- Email a lab that works on one of these genes or on the AWC neuron - one interested in chemosensation, or perhaps in ciliated neuron development. They’re very likely to have all sorts of strains sitting in their freezers that are strongly defective in diacetyl response and have a bright gfp reporter, that the CGC doesn’t have and WormBase doesn’t know about, and they’ll likely be happy to help.