High-Throughput Toxicity Screening with C. elegans: Current Platforms, Key Advantages, and Future Directions

Nematodes, including the model Caenorhabditis
elegans, pose many advantages for high-throughput
screening (HTS) of chemical
toxicity, such as ease of culture, short life cycles, low maintenance
costs, and a wide array of available strains and mutants. Several
HTS platforms have already been developed to rapidly assess multiple
endpoints, including behavior, growth, and reproduction of C. elegans. Here, we summarize the available methodologies
for HTS in C. elegans and evaluate their strengths and limitations
for routine chemical screening. We also assess the relationship between C. elegans HTS data and toxicity information from
other common surrogate species, including fish, invertebrates, and
algae, as well as data from other HTS assays. Notably, image-based
HTS data yielded strong concordance between toxicological endpoints
for C. elegans and established ecotoxicological
surrogates. Finally, we make recommendations for how to improve existing
platforms and where collaboration and investment are needed to make
nematodes an integral part of the battery of alternatives to reduce
vertebrate testing.