Caenorhabditis elegans

C elegans reproduction

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• published: 28 Nov 2013
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For more information, log on to- http://shomusbiology.weebly.com/ Download the study materials here- http://shomusbiology.weebly.com/bio-materials.html Source of all articles published in description is Wikipedia. Thanks to original content developers. Link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page The hermaphrodite, which is considered to be a specialized form of self-fertile female because its soma is female whereas its germ line produces male gametes first, lays eggs through its uterus after internal fertilization. Under environmental conditions which are favourable for reproduction, hatched larvae develop through 4 stages or molts, designated as (L1 to L4). When conditions are stressed as in food insufficiency, C. elegans can enter an alternative third larval stage called the dauer state. Dauer is German for permanent. Dauer larvae are stress-resistant and do not age. Hermaphrodites produce all their sperm in the L4 stage (150 sperm per gonadal arm) and then produce only oocytes. The sperm are stored in the same area of the gonad as the oocytes until the first oocyte pushes the sperm into the spermatheca (a chamber wherein the oocytes become fertilized by the sperm).[8] The male can inseminate the hermaphrodite, which will preferentially use male sperm (both types of sperm are stored in the spermatheca). When self-inseminated, the wild-type worm will lay approximately 300 eggs. When inseminated by a male, the number of progeny can exceed 1,000. At 20 °C, the laboratory strain of C. elegans has an average life span of approximately two--three weeks and a generation time of approximately four days.