Hazard/Risk Assessment A COMPARISON OF METAL-INDUCED LETHALITY AND BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES IN THE NEMATODE CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS

摘要

Behavioral changes are believed to be a sensitive indicator of toxicant exposure but can be very difficult to quantify. Using the free-living soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a computer tracking system was used that measures several behavioral Parameters for approximately 100 subjects on a real-time basis. Toxicant exposures and be performed in soil, on agar plates, or in Aquatic media. Following the exposure period, the worms are transferred to a thin-layered agar slab for viewing in dark-field Illumination by a video camera interfaced directly to a computer.