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C. elegans pp 283–292Cite as

Isolating Caenorhabditis elegans from the Natural Habitat

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2468))

Abstract

Wild populations of the model organism C. elegans represent a valuable resource, allowing for genetic characterization underlying natural phenotypic variation. Here we provide a simple protocol on how to sample and rapidly identify C. elegans wild isolates. We outline how to find suitable habitats and organic substrates, followed by describing isolation and identification of C. elegans live cultures based on easily recognizable morphological characteristics, molecular barcodes, and mating tests. This protocol uses standard laboratory equipment and requires little prior knowledge of C. elegans biology.

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Acknowledgments

This protocol makes use of diverse contributions from the worm community and is primarily based on Caenorhabditis isolation methods established by Antoine Barrière and Marie-Anne Félix. Our research is financed by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Inserm, IBV, Nice, France

    Clotilde Gimond, Nausicaa Poullet & Christian Braendle

  2. URZ, INRAE, Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe), France

    Nausicaa Poullet

Authors
  1. Clotilde Gimond
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  2. Nausicaa Poullet
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  3. Christian Braendle
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Braendle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA

    Gal Haspel

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Anne C. Hart

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Gimond, C., Poullet, N., Braendle, C. (2022). Isolating Caenorhabditis elegans from the Natural Habitat. In: Haspel, G., Hart, A.C. (eds) C. elegans. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2468. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2181-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2181-3_15

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-2180-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-2181-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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