| Title: | Changes to social feeding behaviors are not sufficient for fitness gains of the Caenorhabditis elegans N2 reference strain |
| Author(s): | Zhao Y; Long L; Xu W; Campbell RF; Large EE; Greene JS; McGrath PT; |
| Address: | "Department of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States. The Rockefeller University, New York, United States. Department of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States. Institute of Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2050-084X (Electronic) 2050-084X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The standard reference Caenorhabditis elegans strain, N2, has evolved marked behavioral changes in social feeding behavior since its isolation from the wild. We show that the causal, laboratory-derived mutations in two genes, npr-1 and glb-5, confer large fitness advantages in standard laboratory conditions. Using environmental manipulations that suppress social/solitary behavior differences, we show the fitness advantages of the derived alleles remained unchanged, suggesting selection on these alleles acted through pleiotropic traits. Transcriptomics, developmental timing, and food consumption assays showed that N2 animals mature faster, produce more sperm, and consume more food than a strain containing ancestral alleles of these genes regardless of behavioral strategies. Our data suggest that the pleiotropic effects of glb-5 and npr-1 are a consequence of changes to O(2) -sensing neurons that regulate both aerotaxis and energy homeostasis. Our results demonstrate how pleiotropy can lead to profound behavioral changes in a popular laboratory model" |
| Keywords: | "Alleles Animals Behavior, Animal Caenorhabditis elegans/*genetics/*physiology *Feeding Behavior Gene Expression Regulation Genes, Helminth *Genetic Fitness Neurons/physiology Organ Size Oxygen/metabolism Pharynx/anatomy & histology Principal Component Ana;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineZhao, Yuehui Long, Lijiang Xu, Wen Campbell, Richard F Large, Edward E Greene, Joshua S McGrath, Patrick T eng P40 OD010440/OD/NIH HHS/ R01 GM114170/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ R01GM114170/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ R21AG050304/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2018/10/18 Elife. 2018 Oct 17; 7:e38675. doi: 10.7554/eLife.38675" |
