Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
Volume 75, Issue 5, Pages 843-848Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glz276
Keywords
Dietary restriction; Lifespan extension; Transgenerational effects; Temporary fasting; Reproduction; Trade-offs
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Funding
- European Research Council
- Swedish Research Council
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Dietary restriction (DR) is a well-established intervention to extend lifespan across taxa. Recent studies suggest that DR-driven lifespan extension can be cost-free, calling into question a central tenant of the evolutionary theory of aging. Nevertheless, boosting parental longevity can reduce offspring fitness. Such intergenerational trade-offs are often ignored but can account for the missing costs of longevity. Here, we use the nematode Caenorhabditis remanei to test for effects of DR by fasting on fitness of females and their offspring. Females deprived of food for 6 days indeed had increased fecundity, survival, and stress resistance after re-exposure to food compared with their counterparts with constant food access. However, offspring of DR mothers had reduced early and lifetime fecundity, slower growth rate, and smaller body size at sexual maturity. These findings support the direct trade-off between investment in soma and gametes challenging the hypothesis that increased somatic maintenance and impaired reproduction can be decoupled.
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