scholarly journals A large close relative of C. elegans is slow-developing but not long-lived

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin C. Woodruff ◽  
Erik Johnson ◽  
Patrick C. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Mode ◽  
Developmental Timing ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Female Reproduction ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Geographic Origins

AbstractBackgroundVariation in body size is thought to be a major driver of a wide variety of ecological and evolutionary patterns, including changes in development, reproduction, and longevity. Caenorhabditis inopinata is a recently-discovered fig-associated nematode that is unusually large relative to other members of the genus, including the closely related model system C. elegans. Here we test whether the dramatic increase in body size has led to correlated changes in key life history and developmental parameters within this species.ResultsUsing four developmental milestones, C. inopinata was found to have a slower rate of development than C. elegans across a range of temperatures. Despite this, C. inopinata did not reveal any differences in adult lifespan from C. elegans after accounting for differences in developmental timing and reproductive mode. C. inopinata fecundity was generally lower than that of C. elegans, but fitness improved under continuous-mating, consistent with sperm-limitation under gonochoristic (male/female) reproduction. C. inopinata also revealed greater fecundity and viability at higher temperatures.ConclusionConsistent with observations in other ectotherms, slower growth in C. inopinata indicates a potential trade-off between body size and developmental timing, whereas its unchanged lifespan suggests that longevity is largely uncoupled from its increase in body size. Additionally, temperature-dependent patterns of fitness in C. inopinata are consistent with its geographic origins in subtropical Okinawa. Overall, these results underscore the extent to which changes in ecological context and body size can shape life history traits.

The zinc-finger protein SEA-2 regulates larval developmental timing and adult lifespan in C. elegans

2011 ◽  
Vol 124 (10) ◽  
pp. e1-e1
Author(s):  
X. Huang ◽  
H. Zhang ◽  
H. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Developmental Timing ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Finger Protein

scholarly journals Dramatic evolution of body length due to post-embryonic changes in cell size in a newly discovered close relative of C. elegans

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin C. Woodruff ◽  
Patrick C. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Cell Size ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Developmental Genetics ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Evolutionary Diversification ◽  
Ideal System

AbstractUnderstanding morphological diversity—and morphological constrainto—has been a central question in evolutionary biology since its inception. Nematodes of the genus Caenorhabditis, which contains the well-studied model system C. elegans, display remarkable morphological consistency in the face of extensive genetic divergence. Here, we provide a description of the broad developmental patterns of a recently discovered species, C. sp. 34, which was isolated from fresh figs in Okinawa and which is among the closest known relatives of C. elegans. C. sp. 34 displays an extremely large body size and can grow to be nearly twice as long as C. elegans and all other known members of the genus. Observations of the timing of developmental milestones reveal that C. sp. 34 develops about twice as slowly as C. elegans. Measurements of embryo and larval size show that the size difference between C. sp. 34 and C. elegans is largely due to post-embryonic events, particularly during the transition from larval to adult stages. This difference in size is not attributable to differences in germ line chromosome number or the number of somatic cells. The overall difference in body size is therefore largely attributable to changes in cell size via increased cytoplasmic volume. Because of its close relationship to C. elegans, the distinctness of C. sp. 34 provides an ideal system for the detailed analysis of evolutionary diversification. The context of over forty years of C. elegans developmental genetics also reveals clues into how natural selection and developmental constraint act jointly to promote patterns of morphological stasis and divergence in this group.

scholarly journals The zinc-finger protein SEA-2 regulates larval developmental timing and adult lifespan in C. elegans

Development ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 138 (10) ◽  
pp. 2059-2068 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Huang ◽  
H. Zhang ◽  
H. Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Zinc Finger Protein ◽  
Developmental Timing ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Finger Protein

scholarly journals Opposing directions of stage-specific body length change in a close relative of C. elegans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric W. Hammerschmith ◽  
Gavin C. Woodruff ◽  
Patrick C. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Length ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Dauer Larva ◽  
Dauer Larvae

AbstractBackgroundBody size is a fundamental organismal trait. However, as body size and ecological contexts change across developmental time, evolutionary divergence may cause unexpected patterns of body size diversity among developmental stages. This may be particularly evident in polyphenic developmental stages specialized for dispersal. The dauer larva is such a stage in nematodes, and Caenorhabditis species disperse by traveling on invertebrate carriers. Here, we describe the morphology of the dispersal dauer larva of the nematode Caenorhabditis inopinata, whose adults can grow to be nearly twice as long as its close relative, the model organism C. elegans.ResultsWe find that the C. inopinata dauer larva is shorter and fatter than those of its close relatives C. elegans, C. briggsae, and C. tropicalis, despite its much longer adult stage. Additionally, many C. inopinata dauer larvae were ensheathed, an apparent novelty in this lineage reminiscent of the infective juveniles of parasitic nematodes. We also found abundant variation in dauer formation frequency among twenty-four wild isolates of C. inopinata, with many strains unable to produce dauer larvae under laboratory conditions.ConclusionMost Caenorhabditis species thrive on rotting plants and disperse on snails, slugs, or isopods (among others) whereas C. inopinata is ecologically divergent and thrives in fresh Ficus septica figs and disperses on their pollinating wasps. These wasps are at least an order of magnitude smaller in length than the vectors of other Caenorhabditis species. While there is some unknown factor of the fig environment that promotes elongated body size in C. inopinata adults, the smaller size of its fig wasp carrier may be driving the reduced body length of its dauer larva. Thus ecological divergence across multiple developmental stages can promote unexpected and opposing changes in body size within a single species.

Correlates of Species Richness in Mammals: Body Size, Life History, and Ecology

2005 ◽  
Vol 165 (5) ◽  
pp. 600
Author(s):  
Nick J. B. Isaac ◽  
Jones ◽  
Gittleman ◽  
Purvis
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Body Size

A Comment on the Optimization of Body Size in Drosophila According to Roff's Life History Model

1982 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 686-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Ricklefs
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size

scholarly journals Natural variation in fecundity is correlated with species-wide levels of divergence in Caenorhabditis elegans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaotian Zhang ◽  
Jake D Mostad ◽  
Erik C Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Selective Sweeps ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genetic Complexity ◽  
Genomic Regions ◽  
Global Population

Abstract Life history traits underlie the fitness of organisms and are under strong natural selection. A new mutation that positively impacts a life history trait will likely increase in frequency and become fixed in a population (e.g. a selective sweep). The identification of the beneficial alleles that underlie selective sweeps provides insights into the mechanisms that occurred during the evolution of a species. In the global population of Caenorhabditis elegans, we previously identified selective sweeps that have drastically reduced chromosomal-scale genetic diversity in the species. Here, we measured the fecundity of 121 wild C. elegans strains, including many recently isolated divergent strains from the Hawaiian islands and found that strains with larger swept genomic regions have significantly higher fecundity than strains without evidence of the recent selective sweeps. We used genome-wide association (GWA) mapping to identify three quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying the fecundity variation. Additionally, we mapped previous fecundity data from wild C. elegans strains and C. elegans recombinant inbred advanced intercross lines that were grown in various conditions and detected eight QTL using GWA and linkage mappings. These QTL show the genetic complexity of fecundity across this species. Moreover, the haplotype structure in each GWA QTL region revealed correlations with recent selective sweeps in the C. elegans population. North American and European strains had significantly higher fecundity than most strains from Hawaii, a hypothesized origin of the C. elegans species, suggesting that beneficial alleles that caused increased fecundity could underlie the selective sweeps during the worldwide expansion of C. elegans.

Dinosaur Macroevolution and Macroecology

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B.J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Fossil Record ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Adaptive Landscape ◽  
Species Diversification ◽  
Size Evolution ◽  
Body Size Evolution

Dinosaurs were large-bodied land animals of the Mesozoic that gave rise to birds. They played a fundamental role in structuring Jurassic–Cretaceous ecosystems and had physiology, growth, and reproductive biology unlike those of extant animals. These features have made them targets of theoretical macroecology. Dinosaurs achieved substantial structural diversity, and their fossil record documents the evolutionary assembly of the avian body plan. Phylogeny-based research has allowed new insights into dinosaur macroevolution, including the adaptive landscape of their body size evolution, patterns of species diversification, and the origins of birds and bird-like traits. Nevertheless, much remains unknown due to incompleteness of the fossil record at both local and global scales. This presents major challenges at the frontier of paleobiological research regarding tests of macroecological hypotheses and the effects of dinosaur biology, ecology, and life history on their macroevolution.

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