To date, the ivermectin resistance in nematode parasites has been reported
and many studies are carried out to determine the causes of this problem. A free-living
Caenorhabditis elegans is used as a model system for this study to investigate the
response of C. elegans to ivermectin exposure by using larval development assay. Worms
were exposed to ivermectin at concentration from 1 ng/mL to 10 ng/mL and dimethyl
sulphoxide (DMSO) as a control. The developments of the worms were monitored for 24,
48, 72, and 96 hours until the worms become adults. Results indicated that worms’ growth
began to be affected by ivermectin at a concentration of 5 ng/mL, while at the
concentration of 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 ng/mL, the growth of worms were inhibited compared to
control worms. Further study of the protein expression in C. elegans should be done to
investigate the up-regulated and down-regulated proteins involve in ivermectin resistance.