Field studies reveal a close relative of C. elegans thrives in the fresh figs of Ficus septica and disperses on its Ceratosolen pollinating wasps.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Biotic interactions are ubiquitous and require information from ecology, evolutionary biology, and functional genetics in order to be understood. However, study systems that are amenable to investigations across such disparate fields are rare. Figs and fig wasps are a classic system for ecology and evolutionary biology with poor functional genetics; Caenorhabditis elegans is a classic system for functional genetics with poor ecology. In order to help bridge these disciplines, here we describe the natural history of a close relative of C. elegans, Caenorhabditis inopinata, that is associated with the fig Ficus septica and its pollinating Ceratosolen wasps.

Results

To understand the natural context of fig-associated Caenorhabditis, fresh F. septica figs from four Ok

SUBMITTER: Woodruff GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6102938 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature