Exploring superlongevity in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the role of trehalose in its lifespan determination
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Trehalose is a disaccharide of glucose found in many non-vertebrates.One of its important functions is to confer the organism with stress resistance against heat, cold, desiccation, hypoxia and oxidation.Additionally, trehalose was reported to be partially responsible for the longevity of insulin/IGF-1-like receptor mutant daf-2, which lives twice as long as wild type and reveals from a 1.38 to 1.75-fold increase in trehalose levels.Here, we demonstrate that the expression of at least one of the two trehalose synthesizing enzymes (TPS-1) is downstream of the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16, which is required for the longevity and stress resistance of daf-2 mutants.We also found that daf-2 mutants have trehalose levels that are 5-fold higher than wild type.Most interestingly, decreasing trehalose levels back to those of wild type had no effect on longevity.These findings indicate that the high levels of trehalose are not linked to the daf-2 longevity phenotype.In addition, we found that a decrease in trehalose levels did not cause an increase in other sugars such as maltose, glucose, and glycogen, meaning that there are no compensatory mechanisms regarding to the tested carbohydrates.
Author: Madina Rasulova
Language: English
Subfield: Aging
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2770675574