Hormonal signal amplification mediates environmental conditions during development and controls an irreversible commitment to adulthood.

ABSTRACT: Many animals can choose between different developmental fates to maximize fitness. Despite the complexity of environmental cues and life history, different developmental fates are executed in a robust fashion. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans serves as a powerful model to examine this phenomenon because it can adopt one of two developmental fates (adulthood or diapause) depending on environmental conditions. The steroid hormone dafachronic acid (DA) directs development to adulthood by regulating the transcriptional activity of the nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12. The known role of DA suggests that it may be the molecular mediator of environmental condition effects on the developmental fate decision, although the mechanism is yet unknown. We used a combination of physiological and molecu

SUBMITTER: Schaedel ON 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3323525 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature