Aldicarb-induced Paralysis Assay to Determine Defects in Synaptic Transmission in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Aldicarb treatment causes an accumulation of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft of the neuromuscular junction, resulting in sustained muscle activation and eventually paralysis. Aldicarb-induced paralysis assay is an easy and fast method to determine whether synaptic transmission of a C. elegans mutant of interest is altered. This assay is based on the correlation of the rate of neurotransmitter release with the rate of paralysis. In this protocol, we describe a method for simultaneously assessing the aldicarb sensitivity of animals with different genotypes.