Time to move the fat

Abstract

In this issue of Genes & Development, Dowen and colleagues (pp. 1515-1528) elegantly unify two previously unconnected aspects of physiology. The investigators provide significant genetic evidence to support a critical link between developmental timing decisions and the regulation of lipid mobilization at the transition to adulthood in Caenorhabditis elegans. This novel connection involves cross-tissue signaling fromthe hypodermis (epidermis) to the intestine to promote reproductive success in the germline.