Figure 2.

Assay characterization. A: Effect of aldicarb on adult worms: Adult worms were treated with aldicarb at a range of concentrations and FMS was calculated at 5 min intervals. FMS was plotted as a time-course of response for each concentration. B: Adult worms homozygous for a loss-of-function unc-38(e264) mutation are insensitive to aldicarb. C: The dose-response relationship for aldicarb is affected by addition of mecamylamine, an antagonist of nAChRs. EC50 values were calculated by fitting a 3-parameter logistic function to the data (see Materials and Methods). A-C show means of 4 independent experiments; error bars show standard error of the mean. All data are normalized to drug-free controls. D: Assay detects effects of targeting genes required for normal movement using RNAi. L1 worms were grown for 4 days in the presence of E. coli strains expressing dsRNA that target individual genes known to be required for normal movement. L1 progeny from these cultures were isolated by filtration and their mobility quantified using our assay. Mobility scores are normalized to a non-targeting RNAi control (dsRNA targeted against GFP). Data represent the mean of 8 wells, containing 100 worms per well.