A large close relative of C. elegans is slow-developing but not long-lived. 2019

Gavin C Woodruff, and Erik Johnson, and Patrick C Phillips
Department of Biology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA. gavincw@uoregon.edu.

Variation 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. Additionally, drastic changes in natural context often have profound effects on multiple fitness-related traits. 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 and shift in ecological context has led to correlated changes in key life history and developmental parameters within this species. Using 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. Consistent 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.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008136 Longevity The normal length of time of an organism's life. Length of Life,Life Span,Lifespan,Life Spans,Lifespans
D008297 Male Males
D008954 Models, Biological Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of biological processes or diseases. For disease models in living animals, DISEASE MODELS, ANIMAL is available. Biological models include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment. Biological Model,Biological Models,Model, Biological,Models, Biologic,Biologic Model,Biologic Models,Model, Biologic
D010641 Phenotype The outward appearance of the individual. It is the product of interactions between genes, and between the GENOTYPE and the environment. Phenotypes
D002107 Caenorhabditis A genus of small free-living nematodes. Two species, CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS and C. briggsae are much used in studies of genetics, development, aging, muscle chemistry, and neuroanatomy. Caenorhabditides
D005260 Female Females
D006358 Hot Temperature Presence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably higher than an accustomed norm. Heat,Hot Temperatures,Temperature, Hot,Temperatures, Hot
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013094 Spermatozoa Mature male germ cells derived from SPERMATIDS. As spermatids move toward the lumen of the SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES, they undergo extensive structural changes including the loss of cytoplasm, condensation of CHROMATIN into the SPERM HEAD, formation of the ACROSOME cap, the SPERM MIDPIECE and the SPERM TAIL that provides motility. Sperm,Spermatozoon,X-Bearing Sperm,X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm,Y-Bearing Sperm,Y-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm,Sperm, X-Bearing,Sperm, X-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperm, Y-Bearing,Sperm, Y-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperms, X-Bearing,Sperms, X-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperms, Y-Bearing,Sperms, Y-Chromosome-Bearing,X Bearing Sperm,X Chromosome Bearing Sperm,X-Bearing Sperms,X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperms,Y Bearing Sperm,Y Chromosome Bearing Sperm,Y-Bearing Sperms,Y-Chromosome-Bearing Sperms
D016366 Open Reading Frames A sequence of successive nucleotide triplets that are read as CODONS specifying AMINO ACIDS and begin with an INITIATOR CODON and end with a stop codon (CODON, TERMINATOR). ORFs,Protein Coding Region,Small Open Reading Frame,Small Open Reading Frames,sORF,Unassigned Reading Frame,Unassigned Reading Frames,Unidentified Reading Frame,Coding Region, Protein,Frame, Unidentified Reading,ORF,Open Reading Frame,Protein Coding Regions,Reading Frame, Open,Reading Frame, Unassigned,Reading Frame, Unidentified,Region, Protein Coding,Unidentified Reading Frames

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