In 2011, we designed a real-time computer vision system, the Multi-Worm Tracker (MWT), which can simultaneously quantify the behavior of dozens of C. elegans on a Petri plate at video rates. This system enables large-scale forward and reverse genetic screens for complex behaviours.
The MWT allows for high-throughput, high-resolution behavioural analysis of C. elegans. The MWT delivers mechanosensory stimuli and preforms image acquisition, object selection and parameter selection in real time while choreography software extracts detailed phenotypic information offline. A) Image of a petri plate of C. elegans, B) a petri plate of C. elegans selected for analysis by the MWT, C-D) a MWT digital representation showing the degree of phenotypic detail and direction of movement. Adapted from McDiarmid, Yu, & Rankin (2017).
In the seminal Nature Methods paper by Swierczek at al. (2011), we examined three traditional behavioural paradigms using this system: spontaneous movement on food, where the behavior changes over tens of minutes; chemotaxis, where turning events must be detected accurately to determine strategy; and habituation of response to tap, where the response is stochastic and changes over time. In each case, the MWT system allowed rapid quantification of behaviour with minimal human effort.
To learn more about the MWT, read 10.1038/nmeth.1625