Akinosho, A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2025

Independent Validation of Transgenerational Inheritance of Learned Pathogen Avoidance in Caenorhabditis elegans

Transgenerational inheritance of learned behaviors remains a controversial topic in biology. The Murphy lab previously demonstrated that C. elegans exposed to pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA14) not only learn to avoid this bacterium but also transmit this avoidance behavior to untrained offspring. A recent study has challenged these findings, questioning the robustness of this phenomenon. Here, we independently validate the transgenerational inheritance of PA14 avoidance in C. elegans. Adapting the protocol described by the Murphy lab, we show that worms trained on PA14 develop significant avoidance that persists in F1 and F2 generations, though with decreased strength after P0. Our results provide independent confirmation of transgenerational inheritance of PA14 avoidance through the F2 generation, in agreement with previous findings from the Murphy lab and in contrast to a recent study by the Hunter group that failed to detect this phenomenon beyond the F1 generation.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2024

Effects of Martian magnetic and gravitational fields across multiple generations of the nematode C. elegans

AbstractsLife on Mars will require organisms to endure sustained exposure to reduced gravity and near-absent planetary magnetism, yet little is known about how these environmental factors may combine to potentially affect biology across generations. Here, we investigated the transgenerational effects of Martian gravity and magnetism on neuromuscular, sensory, and morphological function using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. Animals were reared continuously under ground-based simulated Martian conditions across six generations and assessed using high-throughput behavioral and morphometric assays. Animals remained viable but acquired progressive transgenerational impairments across multiple functional domains. Swimming frequency showed immediate and severe deficits at all generations tested (Cohens d = 2.6-4.2), while chemotaxis deficits emerged more gradually, becoming significant by Generation 4. Morphological changes followed non-monotonic trajectories, with transient compensatory growth at Generation 4 followed by increased developmental variability at Generation 6. These differential patterns of impairment across neuromuscular, sensory, and developmental systems reveal domain-specific vulnerabilities to sustained Martian conditions. Critically, by Generation 6, Mars lineages exhibited a three-to-eight-fold increase in phenotypic variability, consistent with a loss of developmental canalization that could pose a more serious challenge for sustained colonization than simple mean fitness reductions.

physiology↗