- P granule biogenesis and organization
Germ granule proteins are found among a wide variety of species. In C. elegans, these granules are known as P granules. They are initially seen in the cytoplasm of oocytes and early embryos. In early embryogenesis they are asymmetrically segregated into blastomeres that eventually give rise to the germ line. In adults, P granules are peri-nuclear and cluster with nuclear pore complexes. They are associated with RNA metabolism and appear to play a role in nascent mRNA release from the nucleus.
- Asymmetric cell division
In C. elegans the three principal axes of the body (Anterio/Posterior, Dorsal/Ventral, and Left/Right) are established by a series of asymmetric cell division. It's through these types of division that cell determinants are unequally segregated into daughter cells resulting in the specification of cell fates. The first cell division in C. elegans, in the one-cell embryo, results in the establishment of the A/P axis.
- Unfolded protein response - Cytosolic
A change in activity of a cell (in terms of movement, secretion, enzyme production, gene expression, etc.) as a result of a protein that is not folded in its correct three-dimensional structure.
- Sensory perception
The series of events required for an organism to receive a sensory stimulus, convert it to a molecular signal, and recognize and characterize the signal. This is a neurological process.
- Signal transduction
Signal transduction begins with a stimulating event, such as a ligand binding to a receptor on the surface of the cell, and is followed by intracellular signaling steps that eventually trigger a response. In many cases the end response is modification of the regulation of gene transcription, but could also be the regulation of a metabolic process.
- Thermotaxis
The directed movement of an organism in response to a temperature gradient. Movement may be towards either a higher or lower temperature.
- Hormesis
The process whereby a low exposure to a toxin or stressor produces a generally positive response in the animal that is the opposite effect produced in response to a higher exposure. This can be observed in cases where C. elegans is exposed to short doses of temperature stress during development. Under such limited exposures, animals exhibit a longer life span than animals reared at room temperature. However, extended exposure to thermal stress results in severely shortened lifespans.
- Male sexual development
The establishment of the sex of a male organism by physical and physiological differentiation through sex-specific developmental pathways leading to a fully fertile male of the species.
- Adaptation
Adaptation occurs when a stimulus that once elicited a particular response, now elicits the opposite reaction. In C. elegans, this behavior has been shown through chemotaxis studies where extended exposure to an odor in the absence of food will result in a suppression of the chemotaxis response. In addition, by coupling an attractive stimulus to a starvation environment, the once attractive chemical is responded to as a repellent. However, these adaptations can be restored by brief exposure to the stimulus in the presence of food.