Andreev, Andrey and Vasnarungruengkul, Pavee and Wagenaar, Daniel A. and Prober, David A. (2021) Open-Source Thermometer, Temperature Controller, and Light Meter for Use in Animal Facilities and During Experiments. . (Unpublished) https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210525-083740510
![]() |
PDF
- Submitted Version
Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. 2MB |
Use this Persistent URL to link to this item: https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210525-083740510
Abstract
Experiments with biological samples require precise control of environmental conditions. In our work we use zebrafish (Danio rerio) to understand the neurobiology of sleep, which requires precise control of temperature and lighting. Like many labs, lighting and temperature in the animal facility are centrally controlled in the building. During behavioral experiments and microscopy sessions, we use custom-built heating systems and perform occasional manual checks of conditions. However, without a system to precisely record conditions, gradual changes in temperature can go unnoticed for a long time, and temporary failures may be missed entirely. Here we present the design and characterization of affordable open-source tools to record temperature and light conditions during animal experiments using an Arduino microcontroller or a Raspberry Pi compact computer. The waterproof temperature sensor has high stability over 50 days of recording and is precise to 0.1°C. The Arduino device can be used through a common serial port interface for which we present code in Python and MATLAB. The Raspberry Pi version can be accessed through a web interface, for which we provide an installation guide. We use the device to record and review temperature and lighting conditions in two zebrafish animal facilities. We use our platform to add a water heating system to maintain temperature at 28°C during in vivo light-sheet imaging of larval zebrafish. We show that a change in temperature from 28°C to 32°C affects resting heart rate of the animal, highlighting the importance of maintaining and recording conditions. The protocols presented here do not require advanced engineering, fabrication, or software skills, and provide an approach to accurately record and report experimental conditions.
Item Type: | Report or Paper (Discussion Paper) | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Related URLs: |
| ||||||||||||
ORCID: |
| ||||||||||||
Additional Information: | The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license. This version posted May 20, 2021. We thank Prober lab members for providing animals for the experiments, and especially Dr. Amina Kinkhabwala for testing the design and instructions. The first version of the code used to extract heart rate from images was developed by A.A. during work in Truong/Fraser lab at University of Southern California. This work was supported by grants from the NIH to D.A.P. (R35 NS122172 and R01 MH121601). The authors have declared no competing interest. | ||||||||||||
Funders: |
| ||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1101/2021.05.18.444705 | ||||||||||||
Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20210525-083740510 | ||||||||||||
Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20210525-083740510 | ||||||||||||
Official Citation: | Open-Source Thermometer, Temperature Controller, and Light Meter for Use in Animal Facilities and During Experiments. Andrey Andreev, Pavee Vasnarungruengkul, Daniel A. Wagenaar, David A. Prober. bioRxiv 2021.05.18.444705; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.18.444705 | ||||||||||||
Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | ||||||||||||
ID Code: | 109247 | ||||||||||||
Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | ||||||||||||
Deposited By: | Tony Diaz | ||||||||||||
Deposited On: | 26 May 2021 16:40 | ||||||||||||
Last Modified: | 16 Nov 2021 19:34 |
Repository Staff Only: item control page