Journal
CELL REPORTS
Volume 19, Issue 3, Pages 441-450Publisher
CELL PRESS
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.03.062
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- NIH [R01 AG011816]
- Calico LLC
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The goal of aging research is to extend healthy, active life. For decades, C. elegans daf-2 insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) receptor mutants have served as a model for extended lifespan and youthfulness. However, a recent report suggested that their longevity is associated with an undesirable phenotype: a disproportionately long period of decrepitude at the end of life. In the human population, such an outcome would be a burden to society, bringing into question the relevance of daf-2 mutants as a model for life extension. However, here we report that, following an extended period of movement, daf-2 mutants survive longer in a decrepit state because of a beneficial trait: they are resistant to colonization of the digestive tract by dietary bacteria, a condition that leads to premature death in the wildtype and prevents their manifestation of decrepitude. If bacterial colonization is prevented, then daf-2 mutants lead both chronologically and proportionately healthier lives relative to the wild-type.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available