Fig. 3: BA-induced, LRO-associated metabolic and transcriptional responses depend on diverse stress pathway regulators.

a Fluorescence microscopy images showing the effect of BA preconditioning on Nile Red accumulation. Worms were pretreated by vehicle or BA for 4 h then fed by Nile Red for various times as indicated. b Effect of BA preconditioning on Nile Red release. Vehicle- or BA-preconditioned worms were fed by Nile Red for 2 h, transferred to fresh plates and Nile Red fluorescence was quantified after the indicated times. c Relative mRNA abundance of genes involved in LRO-related vesicle budding and fusion of N2 and glo-1 mutants after a 2-h BA treatment. d Relative mRNA abundance of LRO-related transmembrane transporters in N2 and glo-1 mutants after a 2-h BA treatment. e BA-induced autofluorescence of N2 and various mutant nematodes. Worms were treated by BA for 4 h, then the green autofluorescence was quantified and expressed relative to the wild type control. f–h Relative abundance of pgp-2 (f), glo-3 (g), and K09C4.5 (h) mRNAs in N2 and mutant worms after a 2-h BA treatment. Representative epifluorescence microscopy images were taken from two independent experiments. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. N, number of independent experiments each in triplicates. p-values were obtained by two-way ANOVA with Fisher’s LSD post hoc test. n.s., not significant; *p  <  0.05; **p  <  0.01; ***p  <  0.001, ****p < 0.0001.