# Pre-dauer starvation rapidly and reversibly reduces niche proliferative signaling to the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line

## TL;DR

Starvation before entering a dormant stage in worms reduces future reproduction by altering signals in the reproductive system, but these effects can be quickly reversed when food returns.

## Contribution

The study reveals that pre-dauer starvation rapidly and reversibly alters germline niche signaling, independent of known nutrient-sensing pathways.

## Key findings

- Pre-dauer starvation reduces germline niche LAG-2 presentation and induces germline quiescence.
- Dauer recovery rapidly restores germline Notch dependence and LAG-2 ligand presentation.
- Gonad size differences during dauer have lifelong consequences for reproductive output.

## Abstract

Early life stresses impact reproductive outcomes in many organisms. In response to crowding and starvation, Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes diapause as dauer larvae, in which development arrests until conditions improve. We discovered dramatic differences in gonad size and germ cell number among dauers that form under different conditions. We used live cell imaging of fluorescent proteins in otherwise wild-type and mutant animals combined with food-removal, recovery, and brood-size assays to investigate the causes and consequences of germline differences. Pre-dauer feeding, but not nutrient sensing via the DAF-2/insulin-like signaling receptor or DAF-7/TGFβ, is required for plasticity in gonad size. Gonad differences in dauer have lifelong reproductive consequences; severely starved worms make small dauer gonads and have small broods. Pre-dauer starvation induces germline quiescence and near-instantaneous reduction of the Notch ligand LAG-2 on the germline stem cell niche. A rapid return to germline Notch dependence and an increase in presentation by the germline stem cell niche of LAG-2 – independent of lag-2 transcriptional upregulation – are among the earliest events of dauer recovery.

Summary: Pre-dauer starvation arrests gonad growth, reduces presentation of the germline niche cue LAG-2, and diminishes future reproductive success. Dauer recovery rapidly restores LAG-2 ligand and germline Notch dependence.