Skip to main content

In Vivo Visualization and Quantification of Mitochondrial Morphology in C. elegans

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Mitochondrial Medicine

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2276))

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans is a highly versatile model system, intensively used for functional, genetic, cytometric, and integrative studies. Due to its simplicity and large muscle cell number, C. elegans has frequently been used to study mitochondrial deficiencies caused by disease or drug toxicity. Here we describe a robust and efficient method to visualize and quantify mitochondrial morphology in vivo. This method has many practical and technical advantages above traditional (manual) methods and provides a comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial morphology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bess AS, Crocker TL, Ryde IT et al (2012) Mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy aid in removal of persistent mitochondrial DNA damage in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nucleic Acids Res 40:7916–7931

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Shutt TE, McBride HM (2013) Staying cool in difficult times: mitochondrial dynamics, quality control and the stress response. Biochim Biophys Acta 1833:417–424

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Yasuda K, Ishii T, Suda H et al (2006) Age-related changes of mitochondrial structure and function in Caenorhabditis elegans. Mech Ageing Dev 127:763–770

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Jendrach M, Pohl S, Vöth M et al (2005) Morpho-dynamic changes of mitochondria during ageing of human endothelial cells. Mech Ageing Dev 126:813–821

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Desler C, Hansen TL, Frederiksen JB et al (2012) Is there a link between mitochondrial reserve respiratory capacity and aging? J Aging Res 2012:192503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Galloway CA, Yoon Y (2013) Mitochondrial morphology in metabolic diseases. Antioxid Redox Signal 19:415–430

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. de Boer R, Smith RL, De Vos WH et al (2015) Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for studying drug induced mitochondrial toxicity. PLoS One 10:e0126220

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Markaki M, Tavernarakis N (2010) Modeling human diseases in Caenorhabditis elegans. Biotechnol J 5:1261–1276

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Culetto E, Sattelle DB (2000) A role for Caenorhabditis elegans in understanding the function and interactions of human disease genes. Hum Mol Genet 9:869–877

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Lezzerini M, Budovskaya Y (2013) A dual role of the Wnt signaling pathway during aging in Caenorhabditis elegans. Aging Cell 13:8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Luz AL, Rooney JP, Kubik LL et al (2015) Mitochondrial morphology and fundamental parameters of the mitochondrial respiratory chain are altered in Caenorhabditis elegans strains deficient in mitochondrial dynamics and homeostasis processes. PLoS One 10:e0130940

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Koopman M, Michels H, Dancy BM et al (2016) A screening-based platform for the assessment of cellular respiration in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nat Protoc 11:1798–1816

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Tsang WY, Lemire BD (2003) The role of mitochondria in the life of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. Biochim Biophys Acta 1638:91–105

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Addo MG, Cossard R, Pichard D et al (2010) Caenorhabditis elegans, a pluricellular model organism to screen new genes involved in mitochondrial genome maintenance. Biochim Biophys Acta 1802:765–773

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Bratic I, Hench J, Trifunovic A (2010) Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for mtDNA replication defects. Methods 51:437–443

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Dickinson DJ, Pani AM, Heppert JK et al (2015) Streamlined genome engineering with a self-excising drug selection cassette. Genetics 200:1035–1049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Labrousse AM, Zappaterra MD, Rube DA et al (1999) C. elegans dynamin-related protein DRP-1 controls severing of the mitochondrial outer membrane. Mol Cell 4:815–826

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Sulston J, Hodgkin J (1988) Methods. In: Wood W (ed) The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, NY, pp 287–606

    Google Scholar 

  19. De Vos WH, Van Neste L, Dieriks B et al (2010) High content image cytometry in the context of subnuclear organization. Cytom Part A J Int Soc Anal Cytol 77:64–75

    Google Scholar 

  20. Benedetti C, Haynes CM, Yang Y et al (2006) Ubiquitin-like protein 5 positively regulates chaperone gene expression in the mitochondrial unfolded protein response. Genetics 174:229–239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mitchell DH, Stiles JW, Santelli J et al (1979) Synchronous growth and aging of Caenorhabditis elegans in the presence of fluorodeoxyuridine. J Gerontol 34:28–36

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Ramot D, Johnson BE, Berry TL et al (2008) The Parallel Worm Tracker: a platform for measuring average speed and drug-induced paralysis in nematodes. PLoS One 3:e2208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Giacomotto J, Brouilly N, Walter L et al (2013) Chemical genetics unveils a key role of mitochondrial dynamics, cytochrome c release and IP3R activity in muscular dystrophy. Hum Mol Genet 22:4562–4578

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H. van der Spek .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

de Boer, R., Smith, R.L., De Vos, W.H., Manders, E.M.M., van der Spek, H. (2021). In Vivo Visualization and Quantification of Mitochondrial Morphology in C. elegans . In: Weissig, V., Edeas, M. (eds) Mitochondrial Medicine . Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2276. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1266-8_29

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1266-8_29

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1265-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1266-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics