New genes that extend Caenorhabditis elegans’ lifespan in response to reproductive signals

Aging Cell

Mark McCormick¹  Kan Chen¹  Priya Ramaswamy¹ 

[1] Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

关键词: lifespan;    germline;    steroid;    DAF‐16;    DAF‐12;    aging;   

DOI  :  10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00768.x

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Summary

In Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila, removing germline stem cells increases lifespan. In C. elegans, this lifespan extension requires DAF-16, a FOXO transcription factor, and DAF-12, a nuclear hormone receptor. To better understand the regulatory relationships between DAF-16 and DAF-12, we used microarray analysis to identify downstream genes. We found that these two transcription factors influence the expression of distinct but overlapping sets of genes in response to loss of the germline. In addition, we identified several new genes that are required for loss of the germline to increase lifespan. One, phi-62, encodes a conserved, predicted RNA-binding protein. PHI-62 influences DAF-16-dependent transcription, possibly by collaborating with TCER-1, a putative transcription elongation factor, and FTT-2, a 14-3-3 protein known to bind DAF-16. Three other genes encode proteins involved in lipid metabolism; one is a triacylglycerol lipase, and another is an acyl-CoA reductase. These genes do not noticeably affect bulk fat storage levels; therefore, we propose a model in which they may influence production of a lifespan-extending signal or metabolite.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© 2011 The Authors. Aging Cell © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland