Expression of signal-transduction genes in <i>C. elegans</i> strains, assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Key: −, not assessed. Significance of difference from N2DRM (by 2-tailed t-test): °, nominally significant at P<0.05. *, P<0.01; **, P<0.001; ***, P<1E−4; ****, P<1E−5, *****, P<1E−6. †Number of exact consensus DAF-16 sites in upstream 5-kb span, (a, b), where a = GTAAA(C/A)AA, and b = CTTATCA. For each gene tested, wild-type N2DRM adults are compared to four age-1 mutant populations and to dauer larvae. The age-1(mg44) worms are F1 homozygotes at days 8–9 of adulthood, by which time they were post-gravid, or F2 homozygotes at day 10 (18 days post-hatch); other groups (N2DRM, age-1(hx546), and daf-16(mu86); age-1(mg44) double mutants) were harvested when post-gravid (days 6–8 of adulthood), or as dauer larvae (N2DRM only) from starved, dense cultures 1 day after >98% of worms had become resistant to lysis by 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate. Transcript levels were assayed for 3–8 independent biological replicates, with two cDNA syntheses and RT-PCRs for each. Numbers shown are transcript ratios for each group indicated (in the column header) relative to transcript levels of the same genes in near-isogenic N2DRM controls. All C(t) data (threshold cycle numbers) were normalized to the mean values for three control genes (β-actin, T08G5.3, and Y71D11.3) that did not change among the strains/groups tested. Changes that were at least nominally significant (P<0.05) are emphasized with bold font.