Single-shot light-field microscopy captures delivery-dependent dye and autofluorescence patterns in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Three-dimensional imaging of live Caenorhabditis elegans commonly relies on sequential z-stack acquisition, which can be slow and susceptible to movement and photobleaching. Here, we used light-field microscopy to capture dye and delivery-dependent fluorescence patterns across intact adult worms in a single exposure per channel. With a 40x/1.20 NA water-immersion objective, each reconstructed dataset contained 121 axial slices spanning 109 {micro}m at 0.91 {micro}m spacing. In a representative adult, nematode signal extended from 40.88 to 85.4 {micro}m, corresponding to approximately 44.5 {micro}m of captured axial depth without sequential z scanning. Three fluorescence channels were acquired with a summed exposure time of 112 ms across a 685 x 1010 {micro}m field of view. FM1-43 labelled intestinal, cuticular and vesicular structures, FM4-64 highlighted ingested bacteria and intestinal compartments, and Nile Red revealed vesicular and broader whole-organism fluorescence. Intrinsic blue and green autofluorescence signals were also resolved. These observations demonstrate rapid single-shot acquisition of whole-organism three-dimensional fluorescence information and show how delivery route influences the spatial distribution of commonly used fluorescent probes in C. elegans.