{"title":"Life history in Caenorhabditis elegans: from molecular genetics to evolutionary ecology.","authors":"Christian Braendle, Annalise Paaby","doi":"10.1093/genetics/iyae151","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Life history is defined by traits that reflect key components of fitness, especially those relating to reproduction and survival. Research in life history seeks to unravel the relationships among these traits and understand how life history strategies evolve to maximize fitness. As such, life history research integrates the study of the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying trait determination with the evolutionary and ecological context of Darwinian fitness. As a leading model organism for molecular and developmental genetics, Caenorhabditis elegans is unmatched in the characterization of life history-related processes, including developmental timing and plasticity, reproductive behaviors, sex determination, stress tolerance, and aging. Building on recent studies of natural populations and ecology, the combination of C. elegans' historical research strengths with new insights into trait variation now positions it as a uniquely valuable model for life history research. In this review, we summarize the contributions of C. elegans and related species to life history and its evolution. We begin by reviewing the key characteristics of C. elegans life history, with an emphasis on its distinctive reproductive strategies and notable life cycle plasticity. Next, we explore intraspecific variation in life history traits and its underlying genetic architecture. Finally, we provide an overview of how C. elegans has guided research on major life history transitions both within the genus Caenorhabditis and across the broader phylum Nematoda. While C. elegans is relatively new to life history research, significant progress has been made by leveraging its distinctive biological traits, establishing it as a highly cross-disciplinary system for life history studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":48925,"journal":{"name":"Genetics","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11538407/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Genetics","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyae151","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GENETICS & HEREDITY","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Life history is defined by traits that reflect key components of fitness, especially those relating to reproduction and survival. Research in life history seeks to unravel the relationships among these traits and understand how life history strategies evolve to maximize fitness. As such, life history research integrates the study of the genetic and developmental mechanisms underlying trait determination with the evolutionary and ecological context of Darwinian fitness. As a leading model organism for molecular and developmental genetics, Caenorhabditis elegans is unmatched in the characterization of life history-related processes, including developmental timing and plasticity, reproductive behaviors, sex determination, stress tolerance, and aging. Building on recent studies of natural populations and ecology, the combination of C. elegans' historical research strengths with new insights into trait variation now positions it as a uniquely valuable model for life history research. In this review, we summarize the contributions of C. elegans and related species to life history and its evolution. We begin by reviewing the key characteristics of C. elegans life history, with an emphasis on its distinctive reproductive strategies and notable life cycle plasticity. Next, we explore intraspecific variation in life history traits and its underlying genetic architecture. Finally, we provide an overview of how C. elegans has guided research on major life history transitions both within the genus Caenorhabditis and across the broader phylum Nematoda. While C. elegans is relatively new to life history research, significant progress has been made by leveraging its distinctive biological traits, establishing it as a highly cross-disciplinary system for life history studies.
期刊介绍：
GENETICS is published by the Genetics Society of America, a scholarly society that seeks to deepen our understanding of the living world by advancing our understanding of genetics. Since 1916, GENETICS has published high-quality, original research presenting novel findings bearing on genetics and genomics. The journal publishes empirical studies of organisms ranging from microbes to humans, as well as theoretical work.
While it has an illustrious history, GENETICS has changed along with the communities it serves: it is not your mentor''s journal.
The editors make decisions quickly – in around 30 days – without sacrificing the excellence and scholarship for which the journal has long been known. GENETICS is a peer reviewed, peer-edited journal, with an international reach and increasing visibility and impact. All editorial decisions are made through collaboration of at least two editors who are practicing scientists.
GENETICS is constantly innovating: expanded types of content include Reviews, Commentary (current issues of interest to geneticists), Perspectives (historical), Primers (to introduce primary literature into the classroom), Toolbox Reviews, plus YeastBook, FlyBook, and WormBook (coming spring 2016). For particularly time-sensitive results, we publish Communications. As part of our mission to serve our communities, we''ve published thematic collections, including Genomic Selection, Multiparental Populations, Mouse Collaborative Cross, and the Genetics of Sex.
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