Investigation of oxygen-dependent motility and swarming behavior in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Model organism Caenorhabditis elegans can perform swarming behavior in nature. This behavior is intricately linked to the presence of bacteria and oxygen levels in the environment. The complex interplay of all these factors drives the emergence of a self-organized swarming response. The collective motility of this behavior is particularly controlled by the oxygen-dependent velocity profile of the animals which triggers phase separation into dense and dilute clusters. However, the exact velocity profile leading to this transition has not been determined yet. In this study, we experimentally identified this missing information by using a liquid environment. The main difference in this measurement is to use liquid culture to be able to stimulate both head and tail neurons with the same oxygen level. We utilized fiber optic-based sensors to precisely measure oxygen levels that correlated with the animal’s velocity. Finally, based on these experimental results, we modeled swarming behavior using phase separation principles.