In Vivo Determination of Mitochondrial Function Using Luciferase-Expressing Caenorhabditis elegans: Contribution of Oxidative Phosphorylation, Glycolysis, and Fatty Acid Oxidation to Toxicant-Induced Dysfunction.

Mitochondria are a target of many drugs and environmental toxicants; however, how toxicant-induced mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to the progression of human disease remains poorly understood. To address this issue, in vivo assays capable of rapidly assessing mitochondrial function need to be developed. Here, using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, we describe how to rapidly assess the in vivo role of the electron transport chain, glycolysis, or fatty acid oxidation in energy metabolism following toxicant exposure, using a luciferase-expressing ATP reporter strain.

A Screenable In Vivo Assay for Mitochondrial Modulators Using Transgenic Bioluminescent Caenorhabditis elegans.

The multicellular model organism Caenorhabditis elegans is a small nematode of approximately 1 mm in size in adulthood that is genetically and experimentally tractable. It is economical and easy to culture and dispense in liquid medium which makes it well suited for medium-throughput screening. We have previously validated the use of transgenic luciferase expressing C.

Impact of sublethal levels of environmental pollutants found in sewage sludge on a novel Caenorhabditis elegans model biosensor.

A transgenic strain of the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in which bioluminescence reports on relative, whole-organism ATP levels was used to test an environmentally-relevant mixture of pollutants extracted from processed sewage sludge. Changes in bioluminescence, following exposure to sewage sludge extract, were used to assess relative ATP levels and overall metabolic health. Reproductive function and longevity were also monitored.

Rapid sublethal toxicity assessment using bioluminescent Caenorhabditis elegans, a novel whole-animal metabolic biosensor.

Sublethal metabolic effects are informative toxicological end points. We used a rapid quantitative metabolic end point, bioluminescence of firefly luciferase expressing Caenorhabditis elegans, to assess effects of sublethal chronic exposure (19 h) to the oxidative stress agent and environmental pollutant cadmium (provided as chloride salt). Bioluminescence declined in a concentration-dependent manner in the concentration range tested (0-30 microM Cd), with comparable sensitivity to reproduction and developmental assay end points (after 67 and 72 h, respectively).

Bridging the phenotypic gap: real-time assessment of mitochondrial function and metabolism of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: The ATP levels of an organism are an important physiological parameter that is affected by genetic make up, ageing, stress and disease.

Results: We have generated luminescent C. elegans through ubiquitous, constitutive expression of firefly luciferase, widely used for in vitro ATP determination.

A model for bacterial conjugal gene transfer on solid surfaces.

Abstract Quantitative models of bacterial conjugation are useful tools in environmental risk assessment and in studies of the ecology and evolution of bacterial communities. We constructed a mathematical model for gene transfer between bacteria growing on a solid surface. The model considers that donor and recipient cells will form separate colonies, which grow exponentially until nutrient exhaustion.