A Caenorhabditis elegans wild type defies the temperature-size rule owing to a single nucleotide polymorphism in tra-3.

ABSTRACT: Ectotherms rely for their body heat on surrounding temperatures. A key question in biology is why most ectotherms mature at a larger size at lower temperatures, a phenomenon known as the temperature-size rule. Since temperature affects virtually all processes in a living organism, current theories to explain this phenomenon are diverse and complex and assert often from opposing assumptions. Although widely studied, the molecular genetic control of the temperature-size rule is unknown. We found that the Caenorhabditis elegans wild-type N2 complied with the temperature-size rule, whereas wild-type CB4856 defied it. Using a candidate gene approach based on an N2 x CB4856 recombinant inbred panel in combination with mutant analysis, complementation, and transgenic studies, we show that a singl

SUBMITTER: Kammenga JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1808073 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature