Developmental Plasticity and Evolution

Paaby, Annalise B.; Testa, Nicholas D.

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-33038-9_110-1

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In summary, introducing population and individual-scale reaction norms to the study of quorum-sensing provides a platform to characterize and compare the functional characteristics of QS systems, and also to place QS within the broader analysis of phenotypic plasticity [27,28,30]. Our results provide a finely resolved mapping of the QS reaction norm to environmental density in PAO1, on both the collective and single-cell scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…However, these same mathematical models indicate that graded-responses are also possible, dependent on the model parameterization. More generally, Fig 1A highlights that the phenotypic response of QS bacteria to differing environmental conditions can be viewed as a 'reaction norm' [25][26][27][28] that can in principle take differing shapes. Reaction norms describe phenotypic responses of a single genotype (y-axis, Fig 1A) to varying environmental inputs (x-axis, Fig 1A).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Bacterial quorum sensing allows graded and bimodal cellular responses to variations in population density

Rattray

Thomas

Wang

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Quorum sensing (QS) is a mechanism of cell-to-cell communication via diffusible signal molecules that controls multiple secreted factors including virulence factors in bacterial pathogens [1,2]. While the standard view is that QS functions as a density-sensing mechanism, the functional and evolutionary context of QS continues to be disputed [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. A critical step in assessing the various adaptive hypotheses is establishing the functional capacities and limits of QS. Current functional studies largely focus on a dichotomy of QS on/off (or, quorate / sub-quorate) states, despite the increasing amount of heterogeneity on a cellular scale [4,[12][13][14][15][16], overlooking the potential for intermediate, graded responses. In this paper we explore the functional capacity of QS to resolve finely graded environmental densities and introduce the use of reaction norms as a way to holistically characterize QS response. Here we show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa can deliver a graded response to variation in environmental population density on both the population and individual scales. We further resolve the linear population response to be the product of two component cellular reaction norms: the likelihood of being responsive and the intensity of response. Overall, this work reveals that there is no critical cell mass or 'quorum', at which QS is activated on either the individual cell or population scale.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial quorum sensing allows graded and bimodal cellular responses to variations in population density

Rattray

Thomas

Wang

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While poikilotherms can exhibit dramatic developmental plasticity in response to their thermal environment, and may tolerate a wide range in temperature, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate temperature-dependent development may nevertheless be finely tuned and adapted [21,22]. This is evidenced by the many observations that organisms exhibit variation in critical temperatures for fitness, tolerance and preference, both within and between species.…”

Section: Caenorhabditis Species Show Variable Thermal Ceilingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A portable, low-cost device for precise control of specimen temperature under stereomicroscopes

Testa

Kaul

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To facilitate precise and convenient control of biological sample temperature, we developed a low-cost device that can be used independently or with any stereomicroscope. The purpose of the device is to control the thermal environment during experimental intervals in which a specimen must be manipulated outside of an incubator, e.g. for dissection or slidemounting in preparation for imaging. Sample temperatures can be both cooled to below and heated to above room temperatures, and stably maintained at a precision of +/-0.1˚C. To demonstrate the utility of this device, we report improved characterization of the penetrance of a short-acting temperature-sensitive allele in C. elegans embryos, and identification of the upper temperature threshold for embryonic viability for six Caenorhabditis species. By controlling the temperature environment even as a specimen is manipulated, this device offers consistency and flexibility, reduces environmental noise, and enables precision timing in experiments requiring temperature shifts. OPEN ACCESS Citation: Testa ND, Kaul S, Le KN, Zhan M, Lu H, Paaby AB (2020) A portable, low-cost device for precise control of specimen temperature under stereomicroscopes. PLoS ONE 15(3): e0230241.

show abstract

“…Many organisms adjust their phenotype in response to environmental stimuli (Burton & Metcalfe, 2014;Nettle, Frankenhuis, & Rickard, 2013;Paaby & Testa, 2018). The early life environment is of particular importance as it can have a profound, and often irreversible, impact upon the phenotype (Burton & Metcalfe, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergenerational fitness effects of the early life environment in a wild rodent

Cann

Koskela

Mappes

et al. 2019

Journal of Animal Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The early life environment can have profound, long‐lasting effects on an individual's fitness. For example, early life quality might (a) positively associate with fitness (a silver spoon effect), (b) stimulate a predictive adaptive response (by adjusting the phenotype to the quality of the environment to maximize fitness) or (c) be obscured by subsequent plasticity. Potentially, the effects of the early life environment can persist beyond one generation, though the intergenerational plasticity on fitness traits of a subsequent generation is unclear. To study both intra‐ and intergenerational effects of the early life environment, we exposed a first generation of bank voles to two early life stimuli (variation in food and social environment) in a controlled environment. To assess possible intra‐generational effects, the reproductive success of female individuals was investigated by placing them in large outdoor enclosures in two different, ecologically relevant environments (population densities). Resulting offspring were raised in the same population densities where they were conceived and their growth was recorded. When adult, half of the offspring were transferred to opposite population densities to evaluate their winter survival, a crucial fitness trait for bank voles. Our setup allowed us to assess: (a) do early life population density cues elicit an intra‐generational adaptive response, that is a higher reproductive success when the density matches the early life cues and (b) can early life stimuli of one generation elicit an intergenerational adaptive response in their offspring, that is a higher growth and winter survival when the density matches the early life cues of their mother. Our results show that the early life environment directly affects the phenotype and reproductive success of the focal generation, but adaptive responses are only evident in the offspring. Growth of the offspring is maintained only when the environment matches their mother's early life environment. Furthermore, winter survival of offspring also tended to be higher in high population densities if their mothers experienced an competitive early life. These results show that the early life environment can contribute to maintain high fitness in challenging environments, but not necessarily in the generation experiencing the early life cues.

show abstract

Developmental Plasticity and Evolution

Cited by 17 publications

References 28 publications

Bacterial quorum sensing allows graded and bimodal cellular responses to variations in population density

Bacterial quorum sensing allows graded and bimodal cellular responses to variations in population density

A portable, low-cost device for precise control of specimen temperature under stereomicroscopes

Intergenerational fitness effects of the early life environment in a wild rodent

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About