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- Title
A Caenorhabditis elegans Wild Type Defies the Temperature-Size Rule Owing to a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in tra-3.
- Authors
Kammenga, Jan E.; Doroszuk, Agnieszka; Riksen, Joost A. G.; Hazendonk, Esther; Spiridon, Laurentiu; Petrescu, Andrei-Jose; Tijsterma, Marcel; Plasterk, Ronald H. A.; Bakker, Jaap
- Abstract
Ectotherms rely for their body heat on surrounding temperatures. A key question in biology is why most ectotherms mature at a larger size at lower temperatures, a phenomenon known as the temperature--size rule. Since temperature affects virtually all processes in a living organism, current theories to explain this phenomenon are diverse and complex and assert often from opposing assumptions. Although widely studied, the molecular genetic control of the temperature--size rule is unknown. We found that the Caenorhabditis elegans wild-type N2 complied with the temperature--size rule, whereas wild-type CB4856 defied it. Using a candidate gene approach based on an N2 x CB4856 recombinant inbred panel in combination with mutant analysis, complementation, and transgenic studies, we show that a single nucleotide polymorphism in tra-3 leads to mutation F96L in the encoded calpain-like protease. This mutation attenuates the ability of CB4856 to grow larger at low temperature. Homology modelling predicts that F96L reduces TRA-3 activity by destabilizing the DII-A domain. The data show that size adaptation of ectotherms to temperature changes may be less complex than previously thought because a subtle wild-type polymorphism modulates the temperature responsiveness of body size. These findings provide a novel step toward the molecular understanding of the temperature--size rule, which has puzzled biologists for decades.
- Subjects
CAENORHABDITIS elegans; GENETIC polymorphisms; NUCLEOTIDES; COLD-blooded animals; TEMPERATURE
- Publication
PLoS Genetics, 2007, Vol 3, Issue 3, p0358
- ISSN
1553-7390
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1371/journal.pgen.0030034