title: DAF-2 and ERK couple nutrient availability to meiotic progression during Caenorhabditis elegans oogenesis.
abstract: Coupling the production of mature gametes and fertilized zygotes to favorable nutritional conditions improves reproductive success. In invertebrates, the proliferation of female germline stem cells is regulated by nutritional status. However, in mammals, the number of female germline stem cells is set early in development, with oocytes progressing through meiosis later in life. Mechanisms that couple later steps of oogenesis to environmental conditions remain largely undefined. We show that, in the presence of food, the DAF-2 insulin-like receptor signals through the RAS-ERK pathway to drive meiotic prophase I progression and oogenesis; in the absence of food, the resultant inactivation of insulin-like signaling leads to downregulation of the RAS-ERK pathway, and oogenesis is stalled. Thus, the insulin-like signaling pathway couples nutrient sensing to meiotic I progression and oocyte production in C. elegans, ensuring that oocytes are only produced under conditions favorable for the survival of the resulting zygotes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Hyoe-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Miri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shidate
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Cedric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kseib
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Electronic address: sarur@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Swathi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arur
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D049469:Meiotic Prophase I; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D009866:Oogenesis; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D011972:Receptor, Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors; C108831:daf-16 protein, C elegans; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; C100662:AGE-1 protein, C elegans; C107483:DAF-2 protein, C elegans; D011972:Receptor, Insulin; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C494915:akt-1 protein, C elegans; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; C085697:mpk-1 protein, C elegans