Periods of environmental sensitivity couple larval behavior and development.

ABSTRACT: The typical life cycle in most animal phyla includes a larval period that bridges embryogenesis and adulthood ¹ . Despite the great diversity of larval forms, all larvae grow, acquire adult morphology and function, while navigating their habitats to obtain resources necessary for development. How larval development is coordinated with behavior remains substantially unclear. Here, we describe features of the iterative organization of larval stages that serve to assess the environment and procure resources prior to costly developmental commitments. We found that male-excreted pheromones accelerate ^2-4 the onset of adulthood in C. elegans hermaphrodites by coordinately advancing multiple developmental events and growth during the last larval stage. The larvae are

SUBMITTER: Faerberg DF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10441318 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature