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development, where different environmental and genetic stimuli each can induce larvae to switch from continuous growth to a seemingly identical dauer (dormancy) state, provides a tractable model to explore this question. To identify dauer features that differ or are invariant, we compared gene expression of seven dauers generated by different dauer-inducing conditions, globally and within >100 sets of curated covarying genes or "modules" enriched for functional features such as "protein expression," "mitochondria," "germline," etc., through gene co-expression network analyses. We found that most modules varied between dauers. Yet, a subset of modules associated with dormancy-DNA repair, cell cycle, and cell division- were invariant. We propose that the robust expression of genes that regulate a few core traits governing dormancy accommodates variation in others, supporting dauers' adaptability and resilience.
Corchado et al. (Tue,) studied this question.