Natural variation in chemosensation: lessons from an island nematode

@article{McGaughran2013NaturalVI,
  title={Natural variation in chemosensation: lessons from an island nematode},
  author={Angela McGaughran and Katy Morgan and Ralf J. Sommer},
  journal={Ecology and Evolution},
  year={2013},
  volume={3},
  pages={5209 - 5224}
}
All organisms must interact with their environment, responding in behavioral, chemical, and other ways to various stimuli throughout their life cycles. Characterizing traits that directly represent an organism's ability to sense and react to their environment provides useful insight into the evolution of life-history strategies. One such trait for the nematode Pristionchus pacificus, chemosensation, is involved in navigation to beetle hosts. Essential for the survival of the nematode… 
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19 Citations

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Citation Type

A host beetle pheromone regulates development and behavior in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus
TLDR
The data suggest that the beetle host pheromone may be a species-specific volatile synomone that co-evolved with necromeny, and a newly identified mutant, Ppa-obi-1, is used to reveal the molecular links between altered attraction towards the beetle phersomone, as well as hypersensitivity to its paralyzing effects.
Temperature-dependent changes in the host-seeking behaviors of parasitic nematodes
TLDR
Temperature-dependent modulation of behavior may enable IJs to optimize host seeking in response to changing environmental conditions, and may play a previously unrecognized role in shaping the interactions of both beneficial and harmful parasitic nematodes with their hosts.
A species-specific nematocide that results in terminal embryogenesis
TLDR
Insect-associated nematodes coordinate their development using host cues to ‘walk the line’ between mutualism and pathogenesis, and a host pheromone causes terminal embryogenesis by permeabilizing the nematode eggshell.
Regulation of hyperoxia-induced social behaviour in Pristionchus pacificus nematodes requires a novel cilia-mediated environmental input
TLDR
A novel cilia-mediated environmental input adds an additional level of complexity to the regulation of hyperoxia-induced social behaviours in P. pacificus, a mechanism unknown in C. elegans.
The bacterial community of entomophilic nematodes and host beetles
TLDR
The survey of nematode infestation profiles of scarab beetles in the greater Los Angeles area over a five‐year period and the conservation of Diplogastrid nematodes associations with Melolonthinae beetles and sulphate‐reducing bacteria suggests a possible link between beetle–bacterial communities and their associated nematises.
Travelling at a slug’s pace: possible invertebrate vectors of Caenorhabditis nematodes
TLDR
Three invertebrate taxonomic groups represent potential vectors of Caenorhabditis nematodes and appear to have evolved specific adaptations to enter and persist in the harsh environment of slug intestines, possibly indicating first steps towards a parasitic life-style.
Behavioral and molecular response of the insect parasitic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae to cues emitted by a host, the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.
Succession and dynamics of Pristionchus nematodes and their microbiome during decomposition of Oryctes borbonicus on La Réunion Island
TLDR
This study represents the first characterization of the dynamics of nematode-bacterial interactions during the decomposition of insects and finds that soil environments have the most diverse bacterial communities.
Environmental Variables Explain Genetic Structure in a Beetle-Associated Nematode
TLDR
It is shown that significantly more genetic variation in P. pacificus populations is explained by environmental variation than by geographic distances, which supports a strong role for environmental heterogeneity vs. genetic drift in the divergence of populations, which is suggested may be influenced by adaptive forces.
Natural variation in cold tolerance in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus: the role of genotype and environment
TLDR
Evidence of significant effects of genotype and environment on cold tolerance is found, and it is shown that, within the different Réunion locations sampled, all three phenotypic classes are generally well represented.
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References

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