TY - JOUR T1 - Nutritional status and fecundity are synchronised by muscular exopheresis JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2020.06.17.157230 SP - 2020.06.17.157230 AU - Michał Turek AU - Małgorzata Piechota AU - Nilesh Shanmugam AU - Marta Niklewicz AU - Konrad Kowalski AU - Agnieszka Chacińska AU - Wojciech Pokrzywa Y1 - 2020/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/06/18/2020.06.17.157230.abstract N2 - Organismal functionality and reproduction depend on metabolic rewiring and balanced energy resources. However, the crosstalk between organismal homeostasis and fecundity, and the associated paracrine signaling mechanisms are still poorly understood. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans we discovered that secretory vesicles termed exophers, attributed in neurons to the removal of neurotoxic components, are released by body wall muscles to support embryonic growth. We found that exopher formation (exopheresis) is a non-cell autonomous process regulated by egg formation in the uterus. Our data suggest that exophers serve as transporters for muscle-generated yolk proteins used for nourishing and improving the growth rate of the next generation. We propose that the primary role of muscular exopheresis is to stimulate the reproductive capacity, thereby influencing the adaptation of worm populations to the current environmental conditions.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -