Julia Wittes @jwittes.bsky.social · 27/08/2025demonstrated that the germline and somatic gonad appear to act in concert as part of a signaling relay. This project has been so much fun to work on. Many thanks to my collaborator Grace, mentor Iva, and the worms! 000
Julia Wittes @jwittes.bsky.social · 27/08/2025exactly insulin is acting has been a long-standing mystery. By tissue-specifically disrupting DAF-2 (the insulin receptor) and AKT in the somatic gonad, we discovered that insulin signaling in the somatic gonad is critical for regulating the dauer entry decision. Laser ablation experiments 100
Julia Wittes @jwittes.bsky.social · 27/08/2025When C. elegans worms are exposed to stressful conditions, they can put reproduction and development to adulthood on hold and arrest their development as stress resistant (and very weird/cool) dauer larvae. We have long known that insulin signaling influences the dauer entry decision, but where 110
Julia Wittes @jwittes.bsky.social · 27/08/2025My new paper is out in Current Biology!cell.comInsulin signaling activity in the somatic gonad controls dauer entry via the germ line in C. elegansC. elegans dauer diapause is a facultative state of cellular and developmental quiescence that enables survival in adverse conditions. Przybyl et al. show that a canonical insulin signaling pathway ac... 2114
Reposted by Julia WittesMeera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social · 03/06/2025Flybase is in trouble and needs emergency support. #Celegans community I know we have a friendly feud but maybe consider a donation to honor a fly colleague/mentor? 1138
Reposted by Julia WittesRita Strack @ritastrack.bsky.social · 06/02/2025"Imagine a DAPI-like stain, but for the extracellular matrix." That's basically how this work was pitched to me by Kayvon and Antonio a year or so ago. Now the final product really delivers. Read about their versatile label for ECM in living tissues here: www.nature.com/articles/s41... 9352104
