The dauer hypothesis and the evolution of parasitism: 20Â years on and still going strong

- Parasitism has evolved multiple times across the phylum Nematoda.
- Similarities between dauer larvae and infective larvae suggest that dauer larvae are a pre-adaptation for parasitism.
- The dauer hypothesis: “the mechanisms used to control dauer development are conserved in parasitic nematodes”.
- The neurobiology of the control of larval arrest and exit is conserved between free-living and parasitic nematodes.
- However, these pathways in infective larvae are both conserved (insulin signalling) and divergent (TGF-β signalling).