The developmental progression of Caenorhabditis elegans can be slowed down or interrupted when animals face unfavourable conditions like food scarcity. The first nutritional checkpoint in C. elegans development is exerted at the beginning of postembryonic development. If C. elegans larvae hatch in the absence of food, the developmental program is halted at the beginning of the L1 stage. Arrested L1 can survive several weeks without food and present increased resistance to stress. Furthermore, several markers of ageing increase during the time in starvation. When food becomes available, the animals resume larval development and ageing markers are restored to low levels. Animals that have been starved for long periods of time take longer to reach adulthood once they are fed. This effect was attributed to a developmental delay after extended starvation. However, using a method that we developed to measure developmental timing, we have observed that developmental speed is resilient to time in starvation. The later entry into adulthood after extended arrest corresponds, instead, with a delay in resuming development. We have also observed that genetic and environmental interventions that affect survival to starvation also affect the time to recover from it. When animals are starved at high density, their survival is extended due to the exposure of unknown compounds secreted after hatching. We have observed that high density of animals mimics low insulin signalling by increasing the nuclear localization of DAF-16, contributing to longer survival and fast recovery from arrest.

Resumen del póster presentado al VI Spanish Worm Meeting, celebrado en Valencia del 9 al 10 de marzo de 2017.

Peer reviewed