A5036492412- Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
- Spaceflight effects on biology
- Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
- Dietary Effects on Health
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Plant and animal studies
- Bioeconomy and Sustainability Development
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior
- Gestational Diabetes Research and Management
- Seed Germination and Physiology
- Light effects on plants
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research
- Genetic Syndromes and Imprinting
- Pancreatic function and diabetes
- Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
University of Oregon
2021-2025
Florida State University
2025
Duke University
2001-2022
Institut thématique Génétique, génomique et bioinformatique
2017-2019
University of Georgia
2014
St. Cloud State University
2003
daf-16/FoxO is required to survive starvation in Caenorhabditis elegans, but how daf-16IFoxO promotes resistance unclear. We show that restructures carbohydrate metabolism by driving carbon flux through the glyoxylate shunt and gluconeogenesis into synthesis of trehalose, a disaccharide glucose. Trehalose well-known stress protectant, capable preserving membrane organization protein structure during abiotic stress. Metabolomic, genetic, pharmacological analyses confirm increased trehalose...
Phenotypic plasticity is facilitated by epigenetic regulation, and remnants of such regulation may persist after plasticity-inducing cues are gone. However, the relationship between transgenerational memory not understood. Dauer diapause in Caenorhabditis elegans provides an opportunity to determine how a plastic response early-life environment affects traits later life subsequent generations. We report that, extended diapause, postdauer worms initially exhibit reduced reproductive success...
Standard laboratory culture of Caenorhabditis elegans utilizes solid growth media with a bacterial food source. However, this method limits control availability and worm population density, factors that impact many life-history traits. Here, we describe liquid-culture protocols for precisely modulating facilitating reliable production arrested L1 larvae, dauer dietarily restricted worms, or well-fed worms. Worms can be grown in small quantities standard assays the millions other...
Abstract In recent decades, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been the major approach to understand biological basis of individual differences in traits and diseases. However, GWAS approaches limited predictive power explain differences, particularly for complex diseases which environmental factors play a substantial role their etiology. Indeed, persist even genetically identical individuals, although fully separating genetic causation is difficult most organisms. To absence we...
Abstract In recent decades, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been the major approach to understand biological basis of individual differences in traits and diseases. However, GWAS approaches limited predictive power explain differences, particularly for complex diseases which environmental factors play a substantial role their etiology. Indeed, persist even genetically identical individuals, although fully separating genetic causation is difficult most organisms. To absence we...
Developmental physiology is very sensitive to nutrient availability. For instance, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, newly hatched L1-stage larvae require food initiate postembryonic development. In addition, arrested dauer diapause, a non-feeding state of developmental arrest that occurs during L3 stage, recovery when exposed food. Despite essential role C. elegans development, contribution perception versus ingestion on has not been delineated. We used pharmacological approach...
To understand the genetic basis of complex traits, it is important to be able efficiently phenotype many genetically distinct individuals. In nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, individuals have been isolated from diverse populations around globe and whole-genome sequenced. As a result, hundreds wild strains with known genome sequences can used for genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, phenotypic analysis these laborious, particularly quantitative traits requiring multiple...
How genetic and phenotypic variation are maintained has long been one of the fundamental questions in population quantitative genetics. A variety factors have implicated to explain maintenance some contexts (e.g. balancing selection), but potential role epigenetic regulation influence dynamics understudied. It is well recognized that regulation, including histone methylation, small RNA expression, DNA helps define differences between cell types facilitate plasticity. In recent years,...
Abstract Across diverse taxa, selfing species have evolved independently from outcrossing thousands of times. The transition to significantly decreases the effective population size, recombination rate, and heterozygosity within a species. These changes lead reduction in genetic diversity, therefore adaptive potential, by intensifying effects random drift linked selection. Within nematode genus Caenorhabditis , has at least three times all species, including model organism elegans show...
Quiescence, an actively-maintained reversible state of cell cycle arrest, is not well understood. PTEN one the most frequently lost tumor suppressors in human cancers and regulates quiescence stem cells cancer cells. The sole ortholog Caenorhabditis elegans daf-18 . In a C loss-of-function mutant for , primordial germ (PGCs) divide inappropriately L1 larvae hatched into starvation conditions, TOR-dependent manner. Here, we further investigated role maintaining PGC starvation. We found that...
Starvation resistance is important to disease and fitness, but the genetic basis of its natural variation unknown. Uncovering complex, quantitative traits such as starvation technically challenging. We developed a synthetic-population (re)sequencing approach using molecular inversion probes (MIP-seq) measure relative fitness during after larval in Caenorhabditis elegans . applied this competitive assay 100 genetically diverse, sequenced, wild strains, revealing resistance. confirmed that...
Early-life malnutrition increases adult disease risk in humans, but the causal changes gene regulation, signaling, and metabolism are unclear. In roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, early-life starvation causes well-fed larvae to develop germline tumors other gonad abnormalities as adults. Furthermore, reduced insulin/IGF signaling during larval development suppresses these starvation-induced abnormalities. How affect pathology is unknown. We show that has pervasive effects on expression which...
In recent decades, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been the major approach to understand biological basis of individual differences in traits and diseases. However, GWAS approaches proven limited predictive power explain differences, particularly for complex diseases which environmental factors play a substantial role their etiology. Indeed, persist even genetically identical individuals, although fully separating genetic causation is difficult or impossible most organisms. To...
ABSTRACT Phenotypic plasticity is facilitated by epigenetic regulation, and remnants of such regulation may persist after plasticity-inducing cues are gone. However, the relationship between transgenerational memory not understood. Dauer diapause in Caenorhabditis elegans provides an opportunity to determine how a plastic response early-life environment affects traits later life subsequent generations. We report that extended diapause, post-dauer worms initially exhibit reduced reproductive...
SUMMARY Nutrient availability governs growth and quiescence, many animals arrest development when starved. Somatic germline cells have distinct functions constraints, suggesting different regulatory mechanisms contribute to an integrated starvation response. Using C. elegans L1 as a model, we show that gene expression changes deep into starvation. Surprisingly, relative of germline-enriched genes increases for days. We conditionally degraded the large subunit RNA Polymerase II found early...
Abstract Food perception affects animal physiology in complex ways. We uncoupled the effects of food and ingestion roundworm C. elegans . Perception was not sufficient to promote development, but larvae exposed without failed develop upon return normal culture conditions. Inhibition gene expression during rescued subsequent demonstrating response feeding is deleterious. altered DAF-16/FOXO localization, reflecting activation insulin/IGF signaling (IIS). The insulin-like peptide daf-28...
Abstract The roundworm C. elegans transiently arrests larval development to survive extended starvation ( 1 ), but such early-life reduces reproductive success 2, 3 ). Maternal dietary restriction (DR) buffers progeny from starvation, increasing 4 It is unknown why decreases and how maternal diet modifies this process. We show here that in first-stage (L1) larvae followed by unrestricted feeding results a variety of abnormalities the system, including glp-1/ Notch-sensitive germ-cell tumors...
The roundworm C. elegans reversibly arrests larval development during starvation, but extended early-life starvation reduces reproductive success. Maternal dietary restriction (DR) buffers progeny from as young larvae, preserving However, the developmental basis of reduced fertility following is unknown, and it unclear how maternal diet modifies physiology in progeny. We show here that first-stage (L1) larvae followed by unrestricted feeding results a variety abnormalities system, including...