title: Communication between oocytes and somatic cells regulates volatile pheromone production in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Males of the androdioecious species Caenorhabditis elegans are more likely to attempt to mate with and successfully inseminate C. elegans hermaphrodites that do not concurrently harbor sperm. Although a small number of genes have been implicated in this effect, the mechanism by which it arises remains unknown. In the context of the battle of the sexes, it is also unknown whether this effect is to the benefit of the male, the hermaphrodite, or both. We report that successful contact between mature sperm and oocyte in the C. elegans gonad at the start of fertilization causes the oocyte to release a signal that is transmitted to somatic cells in its mother, with the ultimate effect of reducing her attractiveness to males. Changes in hermaphrodite attractiveness are tied to the production of a volatile pheromone, the first such pheromone described in C. elegans.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.
authors.forename: Daniel H W
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Leighton
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.
authors.forename: Shannon Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 pws@caltech.edu.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Sternberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000502:physiology; D003470:Culture Media / Q000378:metabolism; D057850:Hermaphroditic Organisms / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009865:Oocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D012724:Sex Attractants; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds
keywords: egg–soma communication; fertilization; sex pheromones