Early experiences mediate distinct adult gene expression and reproductive programs in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Environmental stress during early development in animals can have profound effects on adult phenotypes via programmed changes in gene expression. Using the nematode C. elegans, we demonstrated previously that adults retain a cellular memory of their developmental experience that is manifested by differences in gene expression and life history traits; however, the sophistication of this system in response to different environmental stresses, and how it dictates phenotypic plasticity in adults that contribute to increased fitness in response to distinct environmental challenges, was unknown. Using transcriptional profiling, we show here that C. elegans adults indeed retain distinct cellular memories of different environmental conditions. We identified approximately 500 genes in adults that e

SUBMITTER: Ow MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5831748 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature