C. elegans feed yolk to their young in a form of primitive lactation

Carina C. Kern, StJohn Townsend, Antoine Salzmann, Nigel B. Rendell, Graham W. Taylor, Ruxandra M. Comisel, Lazaros C. Foukas, Jürg Bähler and David Gems ()
Additional contact information
Carina C. Kern: University College London
StJohn Townsend: University College London
Antoine Salzmann: University College London
Nigel B. Rendell: University College London
Graham W. Taylor: University College London
Ruxandra M. Comisel: University College London
Lazaros C. Foukas: University College London
Jürg Bähler: University College London
David Gems: University College London

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits rapid senescence that is promoted by the insulin/IGF-1 signalling (IIS) pathway via regulated processes that are poorly understood. IIS also promotes production of yolk for egg provisioning, which in post-reproductive animals continues in an apparently futile fashion, supported by destructive repurposing of intestinal biomass that contributes to senescence. Here we show that post-reproductive mothers vent yolk which can be consumed by larvae and promotes their growth. This implies that later yolk production is not futile; instead vented yolk functions similarly to milk. Moreover, yolk venting is promoted by IIS. These findings suggest that a self-destructive, lactation-like process effects resource transfer from postreproductive C. elegans mothers to offspring, in a fashion reminiscent of semelparous organisms that reproduce in a single, suicidal burst. That this process is promoted by IIS provides insights into how and why IIS shortens lifespan in C. elegans.

Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25821-y Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-25821-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25821-y

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().