Lifespan prolonging mechanisms and insulin upregulation without fat accumulation in long-lived reproductives of a higher termite
Year: 2021
Type: preprint
Abstract: ABSTRACT Kings and queens of eusocial termites can live for decades, while queens sustain a nearly maximal fertility. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying their long lifespan, we carried out transcriptomics, lipidomics and metabolomics in Macrotermes natalensis on sterile short-lived workers, long-lived kings and five stages spanning twenty years of adult queen maturation. Reproductives share gene expression differences from workers in agreement with a reduction of several aging-related processes, involving upregulation of DNA damage repair and mitochondrial functions. Anti-oxidant gene expression is downregulated, while peroxidability of membranes in queens decreases. Against expectations, we observed an upregulated gene expression in fat bodies of reproductives of several components of the IIS pathway, including an insulin-like peptide, Ilp9. This pattern does not lead to deleterious fat storage in physogastric queens, while simple sugars dominate in their hemolymph and large amounts of resources are allocated towards oogenesis. Our findings support the notion that all processes causing aging need to be addressed simultaneously in order to prevent it.
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Paris-Est Sup, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Pôle de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur Université Paris-Est, University of Münster, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Université Paris-Saclay, Genoscope, Institut de biologie François Jacob, Institut Universitaire de France, Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution, Université de Rennes, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Enzyme and Cell Engineering - Molecular Recognition and Biocatalysis, Inserm, Institut Cochin, Université Paris Descartes, University of California System, University of California, Berkeley
Language: English
Subfield: Aging
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3160414897