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Abstract
The ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions is essential to the fitness
of organisms. In some cases, adaptation of the parent alters the offspring's phenotype
[1-10]. Such parental effects are adaptive for the offspring if the future environment
is similar to the current one but can be maladaptive otherwise [11]. One mechanism
by which adaptation occurs is altered provisioning of embryos by the parent [12-16].
Here we show that exposing adult Caenorhabditis elegans to hyperosmotic conditions
protects their offspring from these conditions but causes sensitivity to anoxia exposure.
We show that this alteration of survival is correlated with changes in the sugar content
of adults and embryos. In addition, mutations in gene products that alter sugar homeostasis
also alter the ability of embryos to survive in hyperosmotic and anoxic conditions
and engage in the adaptive parental effect. Our results indicate that there is a physiological
trade-off between the presence of glycerol, which protects animals from hyperosmotic
conditions, and glycogen, which is consumed during anoxia. These two metabolites play
an essential role in the survival of worms in these adverse environments, and the
adaptive parental effect we describe is mediated by the provisioning of these metabolites
to the embryo.