A negative-feedback loop between the detoxification/antioxidant response factor SKN-1 and its repressor WDR-23 matches organism needs with environmental conditions.

ABSTRACT: Negative-feedback loops between transcription factors and repressors in responses to xenobiotics, oxidants, heat, hypoxia, DNA damage, and infection have been described. Although common, the function of feedback is largely unstudied. Here, we define a negative-feedback loop between the Caenorhabditis elegans detoxification/antioxidant response factor SKN-1/Nrf and its repressor wdr-23 and investigate its function in vivo. Although SKN-1 promotes stress resistance and longevity, we find that tight regulation by WDR-23 is essential for growth and reproduction. By disabling SKN-1 transactivation of wdr-23, we reveal that feedback is required to set the balance between growth/reproduction and stress resistance/longevity. We also find that feedback is required to set the sensitivity of a core S

SUBMITTER: Leung CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3753843 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature