Growth and Activity of Caenorhabditis elegans Exposed to Mechanical Vibration During the Embryonic Period

Mechanical vibration is a key external stimulus of living organisms. In previous studies, mechanical vibration has been found to affect the proliferation and differentiation of cells. However, there have been few reports of similar effects at the organismal scale. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of mechanical vibration on the growth and activity of Caenorhabditis elegans in the embryonic stage. The group of worms that were exposed to mechanical vibration during the embryonic period grew faster than the control group of worms. The growth of all groups was compared by measuring body length. Furthermore, we investigated the mechanical vibration effects in two types of mutants: body wall mechanosensory-abnormal mutants (mec-4(e1339)) and head mechanosensory-defective mutants (trp-4(sy695)). The mec-4(e1339) mutant was not affected by mechanical vibration during growth. On the other hand, the trp-4(sy695) mutant exposed to mechanical vibration showed a difference in growth compared with the control group, similar to wild-type worms. Therefore, mechanical vibration during the early developmental period of C. elegans affects the growth and activity of worms. Additionally, we observed a relationship between the gastrulation period and the mechanosensory system development of the worms. This study will serve as the basis for analyzing the effects of mechanical vibration on the developmental stages of C. elegans.