Project description:The Caenorhabditis elegans oxidative stress response transcription factor, SKN-1, is essential for the maintenance of redox homeostasis and is a functional ortholog of the Nrf family of transcription factors. The numerous levels of regulation that govern these transcription factors underscore their importance. Here, we add a thioredoxin, encoded by trx-1, to the expansive list of SKN-1 regulators. We report that loss of trx-1 promotes nuclear localization of intestinal SKN-1 in a redox-independent, cell non-autonomous fashion from the ASJ neurons. Furthermore, this regulation is not general to the thioredoxin family, as two other C. elegans thioredoxins TRX-2 and TRX-3 do not play a role in this process. Moreover, TRX-1-dependent regulation requires signaling from the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. However, while TRX-1 regulates SKN-1 nuclear localization, SKN-1 transcriptional activity remains largely unaffected. Interestingly, RNA-Seq revealed that loss of trx-1 elicits a general, organism-wide down-regulation of several classes of genes; those encoding for collagens and lipid transport and localization being most prevalent. However, one prominent lipase-related gene, lips-6, is highly up regulated upon loss of trx-1 in a skn-1-dependent manner. Together, these results uncover a novel role for a thioredoxin in regulating intestinal SKN-1 nuclear localization in a cell non-autonomous manner, thereby contributing to the understanding of the processes involved in maintaining redox homeostasis throughout an organism. Four samples were analyzed: Two nematode strains were analyzed, each under non-stressed and stressed (10mM NaAs) conditions
Project description:The Caenorhabditis elegans oxidative stress response transcription factor, SKN-1, is essential for the maintenance of redox homeostasis and is a functional ortholog of the Nrf family of transcription factors. The numerous levels of regulation that govern these transcription factors underscore their importance. Here, we add a thioredoxin, encoded by trx-1, to the expansive list of SKN-1 regulators. We report that loss of trx-1 promotes nuclear localization of intestinal SKN-1 in a redox-independent, cell non-autonomous fashion from the ASJ neurons. Furthermore, this regulation is not general to the thioredoxin family, as two other C. elegans thioredoxins TRX-2 and TRX-3 do not play a role in this process. Moreover, TRX-1-dependent regulation requires signaling from the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. However, while TRX-1 regulates SKN-1 nuclear localization, SKN-1 transcriptional activity remains largely unaffected. Interestingly, RNA-Seq revealed that loss of trx-1 elicits a general, organism-wide down-regulation of several classes of genes; those encoding for collagens and lipid transport and localization being most prevalent. However, one prominent lipase-related gene, lips-6, is highly up regulated upon loss of trx-1 in a skn-1-dependent manner. Together, these results uncover a novel role for a thioredoxin in regulating intestinal SKN-1 nuclear localization in a cell non-autonomous manner, thereby contributing to the understanding of the processes involved in maintaining redox homeostasis throughout an organism.
Project description:In C. elegans, ablation of germline stem cells (GSCs) extends lifespan, but also increases fat accumulation and alters lipid metabolism, raising the intriguing question of how these effects might be related. Here we show that a lack of GSCs results in a broad transcriptional reprogramming, in which the conserved detoxification regulator SKN-1/Nrf increases stress resistance, proteasome activity, and longevity. SKN-1 also activates diverse lipid metabolism genes and reduces fat storage, thereby alleviating the increased fat accumulation caused by GSC absence. Surprisingly, SKN-1 is activated by signals from this fat, which appears to derive from unconsumed yolk that was produced for reproduction. We conclude that SKN-1 plays a direct role in maintaining lipid homeostasis, in which it is activated by lipids. This SKN-1 function may explain the importance of mammalian Nrf proteins in fatty liver disease, and suggests that particular endogenous or dietary lipids might promote health through SKN-1/Nrf.
Project description:In higher eukaryotes, splicing of introns from pre-mRNAs is required for gene expression. Here, we report that Caenorhabditis elegans MOG-7 is a hybrid RNA splicing factor that contains conserved splicing domains from both yeast and mammals. Acute removal of MOG-7 from the C. elegans germline causes intron retention in the majority of genes, resulting in sterility, germline masculinization and germ cell morphology defects. Despite the deleterious consequences caused by MOG-7 loss, the germline can functionally recover to produce viable and fertile progeny once MOG-7 expression is restored through apoptotic clearance of defective germ cells.
Project description:How lifespan and the rate of aging are set is a key problem in biology. Small RNAs are conserved molecules that impact diverse biological processes through the control of gene expression. However, in contrast to miRNAs, the role of endo-siRNAs in aging remains unexplored. Here, by combining deep sequencing and genomic and genetic approaches in C.CaenorhabditisC. elegans elegans, we reveal an unprecedented role for endo-siRNA molecules in the maintenance of proteostasis and lifespan extension in germline-less animals. Furthermore, we identify an endo-siRNA-regulated tyrosine phosphatase, which limits the longevity of germline-less animals by restricting the activity of the heat shock transcription factor HSF-1. Altogether, our findings point to endo-siRNAs as a link between germline removal and the HSF-1 proteostasis and longevity-promoting somatic pathway. This establishes a role for endo siRNAs in the aging process and identifies downstream genes and physiological processes that are regulated by the endo siRNAs to affect longevity.