We thus asked whether miR-71 was required for the reinitiation of developmental programs during the recovery phase after L1 starvation. These results suggest that miR-71 regulates the expression of unc-31 and age-1 through their 3′UTRs. Note that there are extra GFP-positive cells (red arrows) in mir-71(lf) mutants.

The presented results indicate that interactions between multiple miRNAs and likely a large number of their mRNA targets in multiple pathways regulate the response to starvation-induced L1 diapause. Numerous animal species across multiple phyla enter developmental arrest for long-term survival in unfavorable environments and resume development upon stress removal. Such lagged trait recovery, combined with rapid invasive recovery, suggests potential for longer-term shifts in grassland composition and function.

{L1 starvation assay was adapted from a previously described protocol (3). Worms strains were grown and maintained at 20 °C as described (29). This result is consistent with the observation that miR-71 is specifically required for the starvation-induced stress response (Fig. S5). For example, we observed a robust retarded mutant phenotype in the vulval lineage but did not revery play login see obvious defects in seam cell differentiation or alae formation. It seems plausible that miRNAs that control developmental timing are also involved in regulating the metabolic rate through repressing the InsR pathway activity.}