Worm Microinjection

This video shows a nematode being injected with DNA. A needle loaded with DNA enters the worm from the right. The DNA is injected into the region of the gonad where oocytes are just beginning their development. The oocyte nuclei, visible as a rows of dots (like a corn cob), all share a common cytoplasm and have not yet become enclosed within their own cell membranes; this is called a syncytium. The injected DNA molecules fill the syncytial cytoplasm, and should be contained in each oocyte when the nuclei eventually become enclosed in cell membranes. The worm that results from one of these oocytes may express the phenotype of the gene carried on the injected DNA. When the needle is "triggered" by a small pulse of air, the injected DNA solution can be seen as a wave moving through the gonad. Watch the wave travel first to the left, around a loop in the gonad, then back to the right. Learn More about Microinjection Transformation

http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/wardlab/injectionvid.html
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Last Modified: May 27, 1998
Paul Muhlrad pmuhlrad@u.arizona.edu