Figure 3

RNAi knockdown of UBCs alters the secondary growth of aggregates. C. elegans expressing a Q82::GFP transgene were fed bacterial clones expressing dsRNA against the indicated genes or the empty pL4440 vector as a control, beginning at the L2 stage. The progeny of these worms, belonging to the same population as the worms analyzed in Figure 2, were imaged using a microscope with a 10X objective lens at a rate of 1 frame per minute. Aggregates that had formed prior to mounting on the slide were located using the automatic object tracking feature of Image Pro Plus 6.1, which uses an intensity threshold to define the borders of the aggregates. The sum pixel intensity within each automatically defined region was measured over time, omitting objects that formed during the observation period. The Y axis represents the mean pixel intensity for all aggregates, plotted by gene. At least 50 aggregates were analyzed for each RNAi treatment. See Table 2 for calculation of aggregation rates.