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Review
. 2025 Aug;48(8):100232.
doi: 10.1016/j.mocell.2025.100232. Epub 2025 May 26.

Brief guide to Caenorhabditis elegans survival assays

Hyunwoo C Kwon  1 , Seung-Jae V Lee  2
Affiliations
Review

Brief guide to Caenorhabditis elegans survival assays

Hyunwoo C Kwon et al. Mol Cells. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans is a versatile model organism widely used in survival assays to investigate aging, stress resistance, and pathogen infection. Here, we report an overview of survival assays using C. elegans, focusing on assay types, commonly used reagents, and notable analysis platforms. This MiniResource will provide practical information and insights for the design and application of C. elegans survival assays for researchers in the field.

Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; Lifespan; Pathogenic infection; Stress resistance; Survival assay.

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Conflict of interest statement

DECLARATION OF COMPETING INTERESTS The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diverse sources of stress in Caenorhabditis elegans survival assays. Diverse sources of stress used in Caenorhabditis elegans survival assays include aging, abiotic stresses such as oxidative stress generated by reactive oxygen species (ROS), osmotic stress, high or low temperature, and ultraviolet (UV), as well as pathogenic stresses caused by bacteria, fungi, and parasites. During survival assays, live and dead animals are counted at regular intervals, either manually or using automated systems. To statistically analyze survival, the Kaplan-Meier plot is used to interpret survival data by generating a survival curve with the Y-axis representing the percentage of live animals and the X-axis representing time after the assay.
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