Journal: PLoS Biology

Article Title: Role of Pleiotropy in the Evolution of a Cryptic Developmental Variation in Caenorhabditis elegans

doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001230

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Pairwise alignment of human NAT10 and N2 NATH-10 protein sequences. Horizontal dark lines represent the GNAT-related N-acetyltransferase domain (amino-acids 558–753) and a putative ATP binding domain (amino acids 284–291). The gray arrow points to the position of the haw6805 polymorphism. (B) Close-up on amino-acid alignment in the vicinity of the haw6805 polymorphism (gray arrow). Colored letters illustrate residue properties. Red, small, hydrophobic, aromatic, not Y; blue, acidic; magenta, basic; green, hydroxyl, amine, amide, basic. (C) Distribution of the nath-10 polymorphism among different C. elegans wild strains and eukaryote species.

Article Snippet: SNP genotyping based on pyrosequencing technology (PyroMark Q96 ID instrument from Biotage) was used to select the homozygous nath-10(haw6805) F2 (or F3) individuals in the different lines described above and to determine the distribution of the nath-10 polymorphism in C. elegans wild isolates.

Techniques: Binding Assay

Journal: PLoS Biology

Article Title: Role of Pleiotropy in the Evolution of a Cryptic Developmental Variation in Caenorhabditis elegans

doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001230

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Fitness trade-off between minimal generation time and total fertility in C. elegans hermaphrodites. Sperm number is a limiting factor for self-brood size. A variation of self-brood size observed among wild isolates could be explained by a variation in the timing of the sperm/oocyte switch (dotted brown line). The optimal duration of spermatogenesis that maximizes the fitness likely depends on the environmental and genetic context , . (B) Effect of the nath-10 polymorphism on the number of sperm produced per gonad arm at 20°C ( n = 39). One gonad arm per animal was scored. We found no significant difference in the number of sperm produced by the anterior and posterior arms (Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, p = 0.5). The number per gonad arm was thus doubled on the y -axis on the right for direct comparison with brood size . The phenotypes of the two strains were compared using Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test: *** p <0.001. (C–D) Gonad arms of adult hermaphrodites fixed 1 d after sexual maturity and stained with DAPI. (C) In wild-type adults, maturing oocytes are located distally to the spermatheca and present a characteristic size and shape. Spermatozoa are located mainly in the spermatheca, but some may be driven into the uterus by newly fertilized eggs. Hyper-condensed sperm nuclei can be easily distinguished using DAPI staining. The uterus contains developing embryos. (D) nath(RNAi) leads to complete sterility and a partially penetrant absence of differentiated oocytes. Sperm-like cells spread throughout the proximal arm of the gonad. The animal also displays a Protruding Vulva phenotype. Bar: 40 µm.

Article Snippet: SNP genotyping based on pyrosequencing technology (PyroMark Q96 ID instrument from Biotage) was used to select the homozygous nath-10(haw6805) F2 (or F3) individuals in the different lines described above and to determine the distribution of the nath-10 polymorphism in C. elegans wild isolates.

Techniques: Produced, MANN-WHITNEY, Staining, Sterility