Analysis shows that loss of vitellogenins does not influence brood size but reduces progeny survival in Caenorhabditis elegans, suggesting metabolic implications.
Organismal homeostasis relies on balancing cellular metabolic decisions with environmental conditions, especially during reproduction. Using Caenorhabditis elegans , we tested whether vitellogenesis, or the deposition of lipid-rich yolk into oocytes, is required for reproductive output and metabolic balance by creating a strain lacking all six vitellogenin genes ( vit-1-6 ). This mutant produced embryos with reduced lipid content compared to wild-type, but the total brood size remained unaffected, unlike the rme-2 mutant, which lacks the yolk receptor. However, progeny survival during L1 starvation was impaired in vit-1-6 animals. This strain offers a new model for studying how vitellogenesis impacts reproductive and organismal fitness.
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Macharios et al. (2025) studied this question.
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