Global, cell non-autonomous gene regulation drives individual lifespan among isogenic C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Across species, lifespan is highly variable among individuals within a population. Even genetically identical Caenorhabditis elegans reared in homogeneous environments are as variable in lifespan as outbred human populations. We hypothesized that persistent inter-individual differences in expression of key regulatory genes drives this lifespan variability. As a test, we examined the relationship between future lifespan and the expression of 22 microRNA promoter::GFP constructs. Surprisingly, expression of nearly half of these reporters, well before death, could effectively predict lifespan. This indicates that prospectively long- vs. short-lived individuals have highly divergent patterns of transgene expression and transcriptional regulation. The gene-regulatory processes reported on by tw

SUBMITTER: Kinser HE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7864635 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature