Behavioral assays to study oxygen and carbon dioxide sensing in Caenorhabditis elegans

Animals use behavioral strategies to seek optimal environments. Population behavioral assays provide a robust means to determine the effect of genetic perturbations on the ability of animals to sense and respond to changes in the environment. Here, we describe a C. elegans population behavioral assay used to measure locomotory responses to changes in environmental oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. These behavioral assays are high-throughput and enable examination of genetic, neuronal and circuit function.