High-resolution multi-photon imaging of morphological structures of caenorhabditis elegans.

In this protocol, we combine two-photon excitation fluorescence to visualize in caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons and their processes with non-linear optical measurements to reconstruct the three-dimensional architecture of the pharyngeal region and the muscular system of the anterior and mid-body region. Femto second laser pulses excite second-harmonic generation (SHG) and third harmonic generation (THG) signals, which show detailed structural information regarding the organization of myofibrils that are arranged around the central pharynx region. The combination of two-photon excitation with SHG and THG imaging is a very powerful tool to study cell morphology, the microarchitecture and tissue arrangement in C. elegans.