A locus in Pristionchus pacificus that is responsible for the ability to give rise to fertile offspring at higher temperatures.

Temperature is a stress factor that varies temporally and spatially, and can affect the fitness of cold-blooded organisms, leading to a loss of reproductive output; however, little is understood about the genetics behind the long-term response of organisms to temperature. Here, we approach this problem in the model nematode Pristionchus pacificus by utilising a large collection of natural isolates with diverse phenotypes. From this collection we identify two strains, one from California that can give rise to fertile offspring up to 28°C and one from Japan that is fertile up to 30°C.

Temperature Dependence of Cell Division Timing Accounts for a Shift in the Thermal Limits of C. elegans and C. briggsae.

Cold-blooded animals, which cannot directly control their body temperatures, have adapted to function within specific temperature ranges that vary between species. However, little is known about what sets the limits of the viable temperature range. Here we show that the speed of the first cell division in C.

The first cell cycle of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo: spatial and temporal control of an asymmetric cell division.

Throughout the development of an organism, it is essential that the cell cycle machinery is fine-tuned to generate cells of different fate. A series of asymmetric cell divisions leads to lineage specification. The Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is an excellent system to study various aspects of the early embryonic cell cycle.