A blend of small molecules regulates both mating and development in Caenorhabditis elegans

Jagan Srinivasan, Fatma Kaplan, Ramadan Ajredini, Cherian Zachariah, Hans T. Alborn, Peter E. A. Teal, Rabia U. Malik, Arthur S. Edison (), Paul W. Sternberg () and Frank C. Schroeder ()
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Jagan Srinivasan: California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
Fatma Kaplan: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Ramadan Ajredini: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Cherian Zachariah: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Hans T. Alborn: Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600–1700 SW 23rd Drive, PO Box 14565, Gainesville, Florida 32604, USA
Peter E. A. Teal: Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, USDA-ARS, 1600–1700 SW 23rd Drive, PO Box 14565, Gainesville, Florida 32604, USA
Rabia U. Malik: Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Arthur S. Edison: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
Paul W. Sternberg: California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
Frank C. Schroeder: Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7208, 1115-1118

Abstract: Potent cocktail: multi-protein sex pheromones A Caltech team has discovered that a cocktail of three small molecules at low concentrations acts as the sex pheromone in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, whereas at higher concentration two of these compounds induce a dormant larval state known as the dauer stage. Both sexual reproduction and dauer formation, a population control mechanism that increases larval lifespan and resilience, are major life history traits. The discovery that they are regulated by largely overlapping families of small molecules suggests an intimate linkage between these aspects of C. elegans life cycle, and relates to the general observation that, for many organisms, changes in fecundity and lifespan are inversely correlated.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07168

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