{"title":"Adapting and optimizing GCaMP8f for use in Caenorhabditis elegans.","authors":"Jun Liu, Elsa Bonnard, Monika Scholz","doi":"10.1093/genetics/iyae125","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Improved genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are essential for capturing intracellular dynamics of both muscle and neurons. A novel set of GECIs with ultrafast kinetics and high sensitivity was recently reported by Zhang et al. (2023). While these indicators, called jGCaMP8, were demonstrated to work in Drosophila and mice, data for Caenorhabditis elegans were not reported. Here, we present an optimized construct for C. elegans and use this to generate several strains expressing GCaMP8f (fast variant of the indicator). Utilizing the myo-2 promoter, we compare pharyngeal muscle activity measured with GCaMP7f and GCaMP8f and find that GCaMP8f is brighter upon binding to calcium, shows faster kinetics, and is not disruptive to the intrinsic contraction dynamics of the pharynx. Additionally, we validate its application for detecting neuronal activity in touch receptor neurons which reveals robust calcium transients even at small stimulus amplitudes. As such, we establish GCaMP8f as a potent tool for C. elegans research which is capable of extracting fast calcium dynamics at very low magnifications across multiple cell types.</p>","PeriodicalId":48925,"journal":{"name":"Genetics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11457936/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Genetics","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyae125","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GENETICS & HEREDITY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Improved genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are essential for capturing intracellular dynamics of both muscle and neurons. A novel set of GECIs with ultrafast kinetics and high sensitivity was recently reported by Zhang et al. (2023). While these indicators, called jGCaMP8, were demonstrated to work in Drosophila and mice, data for Caenorhabditis elegans were not reported. Here, we present an optimized construct for C. elegans and use this to generate several strains expressing GCaMP8f (fast variant of the indicator). Utilizing the myo-2 promoter, we compare pharyngeal muscle activity measured with GCaMP7f and GCaMP8f and find that GCaMP8f is brighter upon binding to calcium, shows faster kinetics, and is not disruptive to the intrinsic contraction dynamics of the pharynx. Additionally, we validate its application for detecting neuronal activity in touch receptor neurons which reveals robust calcium transients even at small stimulus amplitudes. As such, we establish GCaMP8f as a potent tool for C. elegans research which is capable of extracting fast calcium dynamics at very low magnifications across multiple cell types.
期刊介绍:
GENETICS is published by the Genetics Society of America, a scholarly society that seeks to deepen our understanding of the living world by advancing our understanding of genetics. Since 1916, GENETICS has published high-quality, original research presenting novel findings bearing on genetics and genomics. The journal publishes empirical studies of organisms ranging from microbes to humans, as well as theoretical work.
While it has an illustrious history, GENETICS has changed along with the communities it serves: it is not your mentor''s journal.
The editors make decisions quickly – in around 30 days – without sacrificing the excellence and scholarship for which the journal has long been known. GENETICS is a peer reviewed, peer-edited journal, with an international reach and increasing visibility and impact. All editorial decisions are made through collaboration of at least two editors who are practicing scientists.
GENETICS is constantly innovating: expanded types of content include Reviews, Commentary (current issues of interest to geneticists), Perspectives (historical), Primers (to introduce primary literature into the classroom), Toolbox Reviews, plus YeastBook, FlyBook, and WormBook (coming spring 2016). For particularly time-sensitive results, we publish Communications. As part of our mission to serve our communities, we''ve published thematic collections, including Genomic Selection, Multiparental Populations, Mouse Collaborative Cross, and the Genetics of Sex.