PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Milou W.M. Meeuse
AU  - Yannick P. Hauser
AU  - Gert-Jan Hendriks
AU  - Jan Eglinger
AU  - Guy Bogaarts
AU  - Charisios Tsiairis
AU  - Helge Großhans
TI  - State transitions of a developmental oscillator
AID  - 10.1101/755421
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 755421
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/05/755421.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/05/755421.full
AB  - Gene expression oscillators drive various repetitive biological processes. The architecture and properties of an oscillatory system can be inferred from the way it transitions, or bifurcates, between active (oscillatory) and quiescent (stable) states. Here, we have characterized the behavior of a developmental gene expression oscillator in C. elegans during naturally occurring and induced bifurcations. We observe a rigid oscillator that appears to operate near a Saddle Node on Invariant Cycle (SNIC) rather than a supercritical Hopf bifurcation, which yields specific system features. Developmental progression and the oscillation period are coupled, and the stable state of the system resembles a specific phase of the oscillator. This phase coincides with the time of transitions between different developmental stages, which are sensitive to nutrition. Hence, we speculate that the system’s bifurcation may constitute a checkpoint for progression of C. elegans larval development.