Climate Change: The Effect of Increasing Temperature on Caenorhabditis Elegans

Abstract

The effect of temperature change on organisms continues to be an area of interest as global temperatures rise. The Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a small, transparent nematode that is commonly used as a model organism in biology research due to its short life cycle with distinct phases of life. The C. elegans wild type N2 strain, Strain A, and Strain B were observed at 22ºC, 22.5ºC, and 23ºC. The progeny numbers for all three strains at the indicated temperatures were quantified and the embryonic lethality of each was calculated. An increase in temperature was correlated with an increase in progeny number for Strain A and Strain B while no statistical difference was found in wild type N2. A decrease in embryonic lethality from the first day of exposure to the new surrounding temperature to the second day was observed for all three strains. These results suggest that temperature change can have a significant effect on the progeny number and the adaptability of C. elegans to their surroundings and genetic variation can affect an organism’s physiological response.