Abstract
When grown under xenic conditions, the fertility of the free living nematode C. elegans is somewhat insensitive to the living part of the oligidic agar-medium. However the influence of the total concentration of the inert fraction of the medium is important. For a given temperature, there is an ideal concentration, below and above which the fertility decreases significantly. This ideal concentration is much higher at elevated temperatures (23-23.5° C) than at 13° C. Among the constituents of the agar-medium, only the variations in concentration of the agar seemed to have an effect comparable to that of the total concentration. Variations in mineral salt and organic compound concentration showed no effect. Hence, we are lead to hypothesize that changes in concentration of the agar upset the nature of the physiological exchanges between the animal and the medium by completely transforming the physical properties of the nutrient medium in which the nematode lives and reproduces. It appears possible that the increase in concentration of the medium causes a decrease in percentage of the free water of proteins. This dehydration, in turn, could account for an increase in heat resistance.
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