The Orphan Gene dauerless Regulates Dauer Development and Intraspecific Competition in Nematodes by Copy Number Variation.

ABSTRACT: Many nematodes form dauer larvae when exposed to unfavorable conditions, representing an example of phenotypic plasticity and a major survival and dispersal strategy. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the regulation of dauer induction is a model for pheromone, insulin, and steroid-hormone signaling. Recent studies in Pristionchus pacificus revealed substantial natural variation in various aspects of dauer development, i.e. pheromone production and sensing and dauer longevity and fitness. One intriguing example is a strain from Ohio, having extremely long-lived dauers associated with very high fitness and often forming the most dauers in response to other strains' pheromones, including the reference strain from California. While such examples have been suggested to represent intraspecific competit

SUBMITTER: Mayer MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4473527 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature