Figure 2. Immobilization of worms for live-imaging using agarose pads and Polystyrene beads.

A. Arrangement of glass slides on the laboratory bench. This way, agarose pads can be produced quickly before the agarose starts to solidify. B. Placing of melted agarose on one glass slide using a small spoon. C. Placing of a second glass slide on top of the agarose droplet and simultaneously application of pressure until the agarose is solid (~5 s). D. Excision of an agarose pad (diameter of about 10 mm) using a cap of a permanent marker. E. Transfer of the agarose pad with a fine tweezer to M9 buffer until further use. F. Placing of the agarose pad on a glass slide to start a live-cell experiment and removal of excess of liquid from the side with a piece of filter paper. G. Application of a Polystyrene-bead solution (bead diameter 0.1 µm) to the top of the agarose pad. H. After addition of worms, a cover slip was placed on top of the agarose pad. Afterwards, a few microliters of M9 buffer were added to avoid dehydration of the animals. I. Sealing of the cover slip with candle wax and imaging of the slide using fluorescence microscopy.