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Researcher | Institution | Original publication | Reading recommendations | Beyond | CitationPlants, animals, and fungi show a huge diversity regarding form and phenotype: the observable characteristics of an organism. The research presented in this video uses the model of a particular roundworm to investigate how the phenotype is changed by the environment; this is known as phenotypic plasticity. RALF SOMMER explains that Pristionchus pacificus develops alternative mouth forms depending on their environment, either feeding on bacteria or on other roundworms. By manipulating the worms’ genome, the researchers identified one gene which, if deactivated, results in animals that no longer develop the predatory mouth form. Theoretical biologists have been suggesting the existence of so-called developmental switch genes that determine which of several traits encoded in the genome of an individual is formed. Such genes had, however, not yet been identified. Further experiments revealed that this developmental switch is not constituted by one single gene but is part of a more complex genetic network.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10381
Institution
Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
Basic research at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen addresses fundamental questions in microbial, algal, plant and animal biology, including the interaction between different organisms. The approaches we use range from biochemistry, cell and developmental biology to evolutionary and ecological genetics, functional genomics and bioinformatics. The institute currently has five active departments, each led by a Director
Original publication
The Nuclear Hormone Receptor NHR-40 Acts Downstream of the Sulfatase EUD-1 as Part of a Developmental Plasticity Switch in Pristionchus
Current Biology
Published in 2016
Chromatin Remodelling and Antisense-mediated Up-regulation of the Developmental Switch Gene eud-1 Control Predatory Feeding Plasticity
Nature Communications
Published in 2016
A Developmental Switch Coupled to the Evolution of Plasticity Acts through a Sulfatase
Cell
Published in 2013
Reading recommendations
Antagonism of LIN-17/Frizzled and LIN-18/Ryk in Nematode Vulva Induction Reveals Rvolutionary Alterations in Core Developmental Pathways
PLoS Biol
Published in 2011
Co-option of the Hormone-signalling Module Dafachronic Acid-DAF-12 in Nematode Evolution
Nature
Published in 2010
The Pristionchus Pacificus Genome Provides a Unique Perspective on Nematode Lifestyle and Parasitism
Nature Genetics
Published in 2008
Conservation and Diversification of Wnt Signaling Function During the Evolution of Nematode Vulva Development
Nature Genetics
Published in 2005
The Homeotic Gene Lin-39 and the Evolution of Nematode Epidermal Cell Fates
Science
Published in 1997
Beyond
A Ground-breaking Scientific Revolution
An Alarming Challenge for Society
If I Had a Second Life
A Personal Reading Recommendation