A C. elegans male pheromone feminizes germline gene expression in hermaphrodites and imposes life-history costs.
bioRxiv
; 2023 Feb 18.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36824927
ABSTRACT
Sex pheromones improve reproductive success, but also impose costs. Here we show that even brief exposure to physiological amounts of the dominant C. elegans male pheromone, ascr#10, alters the expression of thousands of genes in hermaphrodites. The most dramatic effect on the transcriptome was the upregulation of genes expressed during oogenesis and downregulation of genes associated with male gametogenesis. Among the detrimental effects of ascr#10 on hermaphrodites is the increased risk of persistent infections caused by pathological pharyngeal hypertrophy. Our results reveal a way in which social signals help to resolve the inherent conflict between spermatogenesis and oogenesis in a simultaneous hermaphrodite, presumably to optimally align reproductive function to the presence of potential mating partners. They also show that the beneficial effects of the pheromone are accompanied by harmful consequences that reduce lifespan.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Health_economic_evaluation
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BioRxiv
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos