Methods for Investigating Cell Division Mechanisms in C. elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely used model organism for the study of mitotic and meiotic cell division. These self-fertilizing worms are particularly advantageous for such studies because they rapidly reproduce (each worm lays ~250 eggs in only 3-4 days) and the cell division machinery is highly conserved between worms and humans. Worms are also genetically tractable and proteins can be readily depleted using RNA interference (RNAi), allowing for the characterization of protein function in vivo. To assess phenotypes, spindles can be directly visualized within the worm using fluorescent protein tags or embryos can be dissected out of the worm and immunostained. A combination of these techniques allows comprehensive characterization of a protein's function in a relatively short time span. Here, we describe methods for each of these techniques: RNA interference through feeding, in utero live imaging, in utero fixed imaging, and immunofluorescence.