Hi all,
I recently created a double mutant strain. I have been growing them up for lifespan assay and I notice one thing very strange. The worms do not like the food and even after 2 days the worms are outside the food and the bacterial lawn is still visible.
Is there any kind of assay I can do to check this phenotype?
One of the mutations has a sensory defect and it doesn’t forage efficiently (worms dont reach the food on a food race assay)
Thanks
Regards
Sudhanva
Your double mutants may compromise core cellular processes. Melo and Ruvkun recently described that inactivating core cellular pathways by RNAi (translation, respiration, protein homeostasis, etc.) cause an aversion response where the animals are repelled by food. This response is similar to their natural reponse to pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Regardless of whether it’s a sensory defect or compromising of some core process, the aversion assay described in the paper (link provided) should be of use.
best,
Jordan