Monitoring Caenorhabditis elegans molting in a conventional luminometer

Abstract

Molting is an essential developmental process in Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the study of molting in the worm has been limited by the lack of automated techniques that allow monitoring the process in a simple way. In 2015, Olmedo et al. published an automated method to monitor the timing of each larval stage and molt in C. elegans using bioluminescence. This new method has greatly contributed to the study of molting in this organism but requires the use of a highsensitivity luminometer, which many laboratories do not have. We have adapted the method to a conventional luminometer, so that it can be used by most laboratories that work with C. elegans and do not have high-sensitivity equipment. • A customization of a method to study molting in C. elegans using a conventional luminometer instead of a high-sensitivity one. • This adaptation allows most laboratories to use their routine luminometers to study molting in C. elegans. • Although the use of a high-sensitivity luminometer, as proposed by Olmedo et al., remains the gold standard for studying molting, this adaptation is suitable for studying significant differences in molting and the duration of larval stages between different strains of C. elegans.