Revised testing procedures do not elicit magnetoreceptive behavior in C. elegans

Landler, L.; Nordmann, G.; Nimpf, S.; Hochstoeger, T.; Kagerbauer, D.; Keays, D.

doi:10.1101/349944

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/349944

Revised testing procedures do not elicit magnetoreceptive behavior in C. elegans

Landler, L.·Nordmann, G.·Nimpf, S.·Hochstoeger, T.·Kagerbauer, D.·Keays, D.

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Abstract

A diverse range of species is known to rely on the Earths magnetic field for spatial information. Vidal-Gadea et al. claimed that C. elegans are magneto-sensitive, exploiting the magnetic field to guide their burrowing behavior [1]. Our attempts to replicate their findings were unsuccessful [2], which Vidal-Gadea attributed to the satiety of the animals and the environment in which they were raised. Here, we report our repeated experiments, having adopted several suggestions proposed by Vidal-Gadea et al. [3]. We find that shortening the length of the behavioral assay and raising the animals in a Faraday cage does not result in magnetotactic behavior. We reluctantly conclude that the assays employed by Vidal-Gadea are not robust or C. elegans are not magneto-sensitive.

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Landler, L., Nordmann, G., Nimpf, S., Hochstoeger, T., Kagerbauer, D., Keays, D.. 2018-06-18. Revised testing procedures do not elicit magnetoreceptive behavior in C. elegans. https://doi.org/10.1101/349944

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