Effect of the diet type and temperature on the C. elegans transcriptome

Area of Science:

• * Molecular Biology
• * Genomics
• * Nematology

Background:

• * Standard Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) cultivation occurs at 20°C with Escherichia coli.
• * Physiological temperature (15°C–25°C) and diet variations impact C. elegans, but transcriptome effects are poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To investigate the impact of varying temperatures and bacterial diets on the C. elegans transcriptome.
• * To characterize global gene expression changes in C. elegans under different physiological conditions.

Main Methods:

• * Comparative transcriptome analysis of C. elegans (strain N2).
• * Cultivation at 15°C, 20°C, and 25°C on Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis diets.
• * RNA sequencing to assess global gene expression profiles.

Main Results:

• * Diet-dependent temperature effects on C. elegans gene expression were observed.
• * With Escherichia coli, increased temperature upregulated defense pathways and downregulated metabolic genes.
• * With Bacillus subtilis, increased temperature downregulated defense pathways and upregulated metabolic genes.

Conclusions:

• * C. elegans exhibits significant transcriptome alterations in response to physiological temperature fluctuations.
• * Bacterial diet influences temperature-dependent gene expression, highlighting the role of diet pathogenicity.
• * Temperature and diet are critical factors modulating C. elegans metabolism and defense responses.