Developmental BiologybioRxivPreprint
Cysteine protease cathepsin B promotes high population density-induced mutagenesis, driving genome evolution and competitive growth in response to the crowding stress
Bin Yu, Yuji Suehiro, Bryan J. Johnson…·Ding Xue
This study shows that CPR-4, a homologue of human cathepsin B, induces DNA damage and mutagenesis in C. elegans under crowding stress, leading to increased mutation rates and competitive growth advantages.
DOI 10.64898/2025.12.22.696062