| Title: | A C. elegans male pheromone feminizes germline gene expression in hermaphrodites and imposes life-history costs |
| Author(s): | Angeles-Albores D; Aprison EZ; Dzitoyeva S; Ruvinsky I; |
| Address: | "Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. Current address: Altos Labs, Bay Area Institute of Science, Redwood Shores, CA 94065, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1101/2023.02.17.528976 |
| 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" |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEAngeles-Albores, David Aprison, Erin Z Dzitoyeva, Svetlana Ruvinsky, Ilya eng R01 GM126125/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ P41 HG002223/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ U41 HG002223/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ U24 HG002223/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ P40 OD010440/OD/NIH HHS/ Preprint 2023/02/25 bioRxiv. 2023 Feb 18:2023.02.17.528976. doi: 10.1101/2023.02.17.528976. Preprint" |
