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Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Basic Caenorhabditis elegans Methods: Synchronization and Observation
Published on: June 10, 2012
Endoribonuclease ENDU-2 regulates multiple traits including cold tolerance via cell autonomous and nonautonomous
Tomoyo Ujisawa1,2,3, Akane Ohta4,2,3, Tatsuya Ii5
1Faculty of Science and Engineering, Konan University, Kobe 658-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
Environmental temperature acclimation is essential to animal survival, yet thermoregulation mechanisms remain poorly understood. We demonstrate cold tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans as regulated by paired ADL chemosensory neurons via Ca2+-dependent endoribonuclease (EndoU) ENDU-2. Loss of ENDU-2 function results in life span, brood size, and synaptic remodeling abnormalities in addition to enhanced cold tolerance. Enzymatic ENDU-2 defects localized in the ADL and certain muscle cells led to increased cold tolerance in endu-2 mutants. Ca2+ imaging revealed ADL neurons were responsive to temperature stimuli through transient receptor potential (TRP) channels, concluding that ADL function requires ENDU-2 action in both cell-autonomous and cell-nonautonomous mechanisms. ENDU-2 is involved in caspase expression, which is central to cold tolerance and synaptic remodeling in dorsal nerve cord. We therefore conclude that ENDU-2 regulates cell type-dependent, cell-autonomous, and cell-nonautonomous cold tolerance.
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