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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Title:		Communication between oocytes and somatic cells regulates volatile pheromone production in Caenorhabditis elegans
Author(s):		Leighton DH; Choe A; Wu SY; Sternberg PW;
Address:		"Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 pws@caltech.edu"
Journal Title:		Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Year:		2014
Volume:		20141201
Issue:		50
Page Number:		17905 - 17910
DOI:		10.1073/pnas.1420439111
ISSN/ISBN:		1091-6490 (Electronic) 0027-8424 (Print) 0027-8424 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Males of the androdioecious species Caenorhabditis elegans are more likely to attempt to mate with and successfully inseminate C. elegans hermaphrodites that do not concurrently harbor sperm. Although a small number of genes have been implicated in this effect, the mechanism by which it arises remains unknown. In the context of the battle of the sexes, it is also unknown whether this effect is to the benefit of the male, the hermaphrodite, or both. We report that successful contact between mature sperm and oocyte in the C. elegans gonad at the start of fertilization causes the oocyte to release a signal that is transmitted to somatic cells in its mother, with the ultimate effect of reducing her attractiveness to males. Changes in hermaphrodite attractiveness are tied to the production of a volatile pheromone, the first such pheromone described in C. elegans"
Keywords:		"Animals Caenorhabditis elegans/*physiology Cell Communication/*physiology Chemotaxis/physiology Culture Media/metabolism Hermaphroditic Organisms/*physiology Male Oocytes/*metabolism Sex Attractants/*biosynthesis Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology Spermat;"
Notes:		"MedlineLeighton, Daniel H W Choe, Andrea Wu, Shannon Y Sternberg, Paul W eng T32 GM007616/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ T32GM07616/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2014/12/03 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Dec 16; 111(50):17905-10. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1420439111. Epub 2014 Dec 1"