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Study highlights the role of long-term environmental changes in the evolution of predatory behaviour in nematodes.
Research by the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen reveals how nematodes can rapidly change to predatory behaviour through long-term environmental exposure. Over 101 generations, dietary changes led to a complete shift to 100% predatory behaviour, challenging traditional views on fixed traits. This revealed the significant role of multi-generational genetic memory and microRNA involvement in shaping evolutionary adaptations.
A team of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen has made significant strides in understanding the evolution of predatory behaviour of nematodes, challenging established paradigms in evolutionary biology. Their study demonstrates that long-term environmental exposure plays a crucial role in shaping behaviour, with significant adaptations occurring over multiple generations in response to dietary changes.
Conducting experiments across 101 generations, the researchers observed nematodes exposed to the Novosphingobium bacteria, an alternative food source to E. coli. This resulted in an immediate and systemic shift to 100% predatory behaviour across all test lines. This finding directly contrasts the conventional understanding of fixed predatory traits, highlighting the remarkable ability of these organisms to modify their behaviour in response to environmental changes rapidly.
Multi-generational memory and microRNA involvement
This pioneering research explored the mechanisms of predation-related genetic memory through multi-generational studies, revealing that up to five generations of exposure were required to establish lasting behavioural shifts.
This study also uncovered the involvement of microRNAs, specifically the miR-35 family, in transgenerational inheritance linked to the EBAX-1 gene, marking a significant advance in our understanding of the genetic regulation of behaviour.
“This research opens new avenues in the understanding of behavioural plasticity,” says Shiela Quiobe, doctoral researcher and first author of the study. “This discovery was completely unexpected, and now it’s exciting as we’re just scratching the surface in understanding the microRNAs' mechanisms.”
Lead author Dr. Ralf Sommer, Director of the Department of Integrative Evolutionary Biology, emphasises their findings' broader implications. “The long-term environmental induction experiment is a novel approach in the context of phenotypic plasticity to show that environmental responses can be important for longer evolutionary periods.” He adds, “The fact that we see a phenomenon where you really need multi-generational exposure to induce such memory indicates that there might be more crosstalk between ecology and evolution.”
These findings challenge previous assumptions about predatory strategies in nematodes and underscore the importance of ecological context in evolutionary dynamics. They reveal a previously unrecognised interplay between environmental factors and evolutionary processes, with potential implications for our understanding of adaptation and survival strategies in changing ecosystems.
The research has follow-up studies planned to elucidate further the microRNAs' molecular targets and the inducing agent of the bacteria involved in this adaptive behaviour.
Department of Integrative Evolutionary Biology
Prof. Dr. Ralf Sommer
ralf.sommer@tuebingen.mpg.de
Press Office
Beatriz Lucas
presse-bio@tuebingen.mpg.de
Shiela Pearl Quiobe, Ata Kalirad, Waltraud Röseler, Hanh Witte, Yinan Wang, Christian Rödelsperger, Ralf J. Sommer, EBAX-1/ZSWIM8 destabilizes miRNAs, resulting in transgenerational inheritance of a predatory trait. Sci. Adv. 11, eadu0875(2025). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adu0875
http://Press release: https://www.bio.mpg.de/453170/news_publication_24290329_transferred?c=2923
http://Download pdf and images: https://keeper.mpdl.mpg.de/d/312e9094f5b24b4a8404/
Depiction of treatments, highlighting the evolutionary transformation of genetic memory of the preda ...
MPI f. Biology Tübingen
Image adapted from Ata Kalirad / Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany
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Depiction of treatments, highlighting the evolutionary transformation of genetic memory of the preda ...
MPI f. Biology Tübingen
Image adapted from Ata Kalirad / Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Germany
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