In vivo Live Imaging of Calcium Waves and Other Cellular Processes during Fertilization in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Fertilization calcium waves are a conserved trigger for animal development; however, genetic analysis of these waves has been limited due to the difficulty of imaging in vivo fertilization. Here we describe a protocol to image calcium dynamics during in vivo fertilization in the genetic animal model Caenorhabditis elegans. This protocol consists of germline microinjection of a chemical calcium indicator, worm immobilization, live imaging, and image processing that quantifies the calcium fluorescence in the oocyte region moving in the field-of-view during ovulation. This imaging protocol can also be used to image other cellular processes during in vivo fertilization in C. elegans, such as membrane fusion and cytoskeletal dynamics.