In vivo imaging of cell morphology and cellular processes in Caenorhabditis elegans, using non-linear phenomena

Abstract

We present the detailed imaging of structures and processes of the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans(C. elegans) using non-linear microscopy. Complementary information about the anatomy of thenematode was collected by implementing a combination of two photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF),second and third harmonic generation (SHG and THG) image contrast modes on the same microscope.Three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of TPEF, SHG and THG images were also performed. Moreover,THG imaging technique has been tested as a potential, novel, non-destructive diagnostic tool formonitoring cellular processesin vivo, such as neuronal degeneration