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Transgenerational Effects of Extended Dauer Diapause on Starvation Survival and Gene Expression Plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Webster, AK; Jordan, JM; Hibshman, JD; Chitrakar, R; Baugh, LR
Published in: Genetics
September 2018

Phenotypic plasticity is facilitated by epigenetic regulation, and remnants of such regulation may persist after plasticity-inducing cues are gone. However, the relationship between plasticity and transgenerational epigenetic memory is not understood. Dauer diapause in Caenorhabditis elegans provides an opportunity to determine how a plastic response to the early-life environment affects traits later in life and in subsequent generations. We report that, after extended diapause, postdauer worms initially exhibit reduced reproductive success and greater interindividual variation. In contrast, F3 progeny of postdauers display increased starvation resistance and lifespan, revealing potentially adaptive transgenerational effects. Transgenerational effects are dependent on the duration of diapause, indicating an effect of extended starvation. In agreement, RNA-seq demonstrates a transgenerational effect on nutrient-responsive genes. Further, postdauer F3 progeny exhibit reduced gene expression plasticity, suggesting a trade-off between plasticity and epigenetic memory. This work reveals complex effects of nutrient stress over different time scales in an animal that evolved to thrive in feast and famine.

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Published In

Genetics

DOI

EISSN

1943-2631

ISSN

0016-6731

Publication Date

September 2018

Volume

210

Issue

1

Start / End Page

263 / 274

Related Subject Headings

  • Starvation
  • Signal Transduction
  • Longevity
  • Larva
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Diapause
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cohort Effect
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Webster, A. K., Jordan, J. M., Hibshman, J. D., Chitrakar, R., & Baugh, L. R. (2018). Transgenerational Effects of Extended Dauer Diapause on Starvation Survival and Gene Expression Plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics, 210(1), 263–274. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.118.301250
Webster, Amy K., James M. Jordan, Jonathan D. Hibshman, Rojin Chitrakar, and L Ryan Baugh. “Transgenerational Effects of Extended Dauer Diapause on Starvation Survival and Gene Expression Plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans.Genetics 210, no. 1 (September 2018): 263–74. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.118.301250.
Webster AK, Jordan JM, Hibshman JD, Chitrakar R, Baugh LR. Transgenerational Effects of Extended Dauer Diapause on Starvation Survival and Gene Expression Plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 2018 Sep;210(1):263–74.
Webster, Amy K., et al. “Transgenerational Effects of Extended Dauer Diapause on Starvation Survival and Gene Expression Plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans.Genetics, vol. 210, no. 1, Sept. 2018, pp. 263–74. Epmc, doi:10.1534/genetics.118.301250.
Webster AK, Jordan JM, Hibshman JD, Chitrakar R, Baugh LR. Transgenerational Effects of Extended Dauer Diapause on Starvation Survival and Gene Expression Plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics. 2018 Sep;210(1):263–274.

Published In

Genetics

DOI

EISSN

1943-2631

ISSN

0016-6731

Publication Date

September 2018

Volume

210

Issue

1

Start / End Page

263 / 274

Related Subject Headings

  • Starvation
  • Signal Transduction
  • Longevity
  • Larva
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Diapause
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cohort Effect