Freeze–thaw Caenorhabditis elegans freeze–thaw stress response is regulated by the insulin/IGF-1 receptor daf-2

BMC Genetics

Research Article

Li-Ying Huang¹  Xiao-Ying Xu¹  Ning-Yuan Fang¹  Jian-Ping Hu¹  Li-shun Wang² 

[1] The Department of Geriatrics, Ren-Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China;The Division of Translational Medicine, Minhang Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;

关键词: C. elegans;    Freeze–thaw stress response;    daf-2;    daf-16;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12863-015-0298-5

 received in 2015-08-01, accepted in 2015-11-20,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdaption to cold temperatures, especially those below freezing, is essential for animal survival in cold environments. Freezing is also used for many medical, scientific, and industrial purposes. Natural freezing survival in animals has been extensively studied. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previous studies demonstrated that animals survive in extremely cold weather by avoiding freezing or controlling the rate of ice-crystal formation in their bodies, which indicates that freezing survival is a passive thermodynamic process.ResultsHere, we showed that genetic programming actively promotes freezing survival in Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that daf-2, an insulin/IGF-1 receptor homologue, and loss-of-function enhanced survival during freeze–thaw stress, which required the transcription factor daf-16/FOXO and age-independent target genes. In particular, the freeze–thaw resistance of daf-2(rf) is highly allele-specific and has no correlation with lifespan, dauer formation, or hypoxia stress resistance.ConclusionsOur results reveal a new function for daf-2 signaling, and, most importantly, demonstrate that genetic programming contributes to freezing survival.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Hu et al. 2015