Age-related degeneration of the egg-laying system promotes matricidal hatching in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: The identification and characterization of age-related degenerative changes is a critical goal because it can elucidate mechanisms of aging biology and contribute to understanding interventions that promote longevity. Here, we document a novel, age-related degenerative change in C. elegans hermaphrodites, an important model system for the genetic analysis of longevity. Matricidal hatching--intra-uterine hatching of progeny that causes maternal death--displayed an age-related increase in frequency and affected ~70% of mated, wild-type hermaphrodites. The timing and incidence of matricidal hatching were largely independent of the levels of early and total progeny production and the duration of male exposure. Thus, matricidal hatching appears to reflect intrinsic age-related degeneration of t

SUBMITTER: Pickett CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4020343 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature