Project description:Temperature is a prominent environmental stimulus that influences life span. Previous studies indicate that in Caenorhabditis elegans, thermosensory perception in the AFD neuron maintains life span at warm temperatures. How thermosensation is translated into neuronal signals that shape aging remains elusive. We found that the Caenorhabditis elegans CREB crh-1, as well as several key genes in AFD thermosensory transduction, were specifically required for normal life span at warm temperatures. crh-1 acted in the AFD to increase transcription of the CRE-containing neuropeptide gene flp-6 in a temperature-dependent manner. Both crh-1 and flp-6 were necessary and sufficient for longevity at warm temperatures, and their effects depended on the AIY interneuron. Moreover, flp-6 signaling downregulated ins-7/insulin and several insulin pathway genes, whose activity compromised life span. We postulate that temperature experience is integrated in the thermosensory neurons to generate CREB-dependent neuropeptide signals that antagonize insulin signaling and promote temperature-specific longevity.
