Optogenetic Applications In The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans

The advantages of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, such as a well-characterized nervous system, complex behavioral patterns, powerful genetics, and experimental tractability, establish this animal as an excellent platform for optogenetic studies and manipulation. A roadmap for conducting optogenetic experiments in C. elegans is provided in this chapter. We give advice on the choice of appropriate optogenetic tools, generation of transgenic animals and the preparation of animals for experiments, and describe using the nematode for optogenetic tool engineering by detecting body wall muscle contraction. We also survey specific optogenetic applications in C. elegans that give insight in long-term behavior and development; all-optical interrogation, combining optogenetic neuronal manipulation with the simultaneous detection of neural activity by calcium sensors; the optogenetic generation of reactive oxygen species for cell and protein ablation and mutagenesis; optogenetic control of intracellular signaling pathways; and the harnessing of optogenetics for a drug-screening platform by pacing pharyngeal muscle contraction.