Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 338, Issue 6113, Pages 1472-1476Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1228967
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Funding
- European Molecular Biology Organization
- National Institute on Aging/NIH
- Ellison Medical Foundation
- Max Planck Society
- Sybacol/Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung
- CECAD
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Although the gonad primarily functions in procreation, it also affects animal life span. Here, we show that removal of the Caenorhabditis elegans germ line triggers a switch in the regulatory state of the organism to promote longevity, co-opting components involved in larval developmental timing circuits. These components include the DAF-12 steroid receptor, which is involved in the larval stage two-to-stage three (L2-L3) transition and up-regulates members of the let-7 microRNA (miRNA) family. The miRNAs target an early larval nuclear factor lin-14 and akt-1/kinase, thereby stimulating DAF-16/FOXO signaling to extend life. Our studies suggest that metazoan life span is coupled to the gonad through elements of a developmental timer.
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