Project description:Well-fed N2 worms were bleached as adults and embryos were placed in liquid culture under ad libitum (AL) or dietary restriction (DR) conditions. After 96 hr, AL and DR adults were bleached. AL and DR progeny were collected for mRNA-seq as starved L1 larvae
Project description:Dietary restriction (DR) is the most effective and reproducible intervention to extend lifespan in divergent species1. In mammals, two regimens of DR, intermittent fasting (IF) and caloric restriction (CR), have proven to extend lifespan and reduce the incidence of age-related disorders2. An important characteristic of IF is that it can increase lifespan, even when there is little or no overall decrease in calorie intake2. The molecular mechanisms underlying IF-induced longevity, however, remain largely unknown. Here we establish an IF regimen that effectively extends the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, and show that a nutrient-related signalling molecule, the low molecular weight GTPase Cel-Rheb, has a dual role in lifespan regulation; Cel-Rheb is required for the IF-induced longevity, whereas inhibition of Cel-Rheb mimics the CR effects. We also show that Cel-Rheb exerts its effects in part via the insulin/IGF-like signalling effector DAF-16 in IF, and that Cel-Rheb is required for fasting-induced nuclear translocation of DAF-16. We find that HSP-12.6, a DAF-16 target, functions to mediate the IF-induced longevity. Furthermore, our analyses demonstrate that most of fasting-induced upregulated genes require Cel-Rheb function for their induction, and that Cel-Rheb/Cel-TOR signalling is required for the fasting-induced downregulation of an insulin-like peptide, INS-7. These findings identify the essential role of signalling via Cel-Rheb in IF-induced longevity and gene expression changes, and suggest a molecular link between the IF-induced longevity and the insulin/IGF-like signalling pathway.
Project description:We determined the actively translated mRNA induced/repressed by a Dietary Restriction intervention specifically in the differentiated enterocytes of the intestine. For this, we did a "genetic dissection" by expressing a tagged ribosomal subunit (RpL13A-His6FLAG) under the control of the tissue specific Myo1A-GAL4 driver, targetting its expression exclusively to the intestinal enterocytes. By performing a anti-flag pulldown we are then able to enrich our mRNA pool for transcripts that are directly bound to ribosomes and being actively translated. In this manner, we become one step closer to protein synthesis while profiling gene expression.
Project description:In order to get an insight into the complex interplay of miRNAs in dietary restriction, we profiled the small RNA polulation of wild-type and eat-2(ad1116) worms on Day 1 and Day 8 of adulthood by Next Generation sequencing. We compared the normalized expression of wild-type vs eat-2(ad1116) on either day 1 or day 8 and found that most of the miRNAs were distinctly upregulated in eat-2(ad1116) on day 1.
Project description:Dietary restriction is a nutritional intervention that consistently increases life span in animals. To identify alternative, more acceptable nutritional regimes that nevertheless extend life span, we used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model. We tested if weekly recurring nutritional regimes composed of phases of ad libitum feeding and dietary restriction can increase life span. Short periods of dietary restriction (up to 2 days) followed by longer ad libitum phases increased life span only marginally, whereas regimes comprising longer contiguous periods (3 days and more) became clearly positive, reaching similar life span extensions as those seen if dietary restriction was applied persistently. Female flies were substantially more responsive to these interventions than males. The finding that a minimal period of 3-4 days of dietary restriction is required to induce robust life span extensions was mirrored by the observation that substantial physiological and transcriptional changes occurred in a similar temporal pattern. Moreover, these dietary restriction induced changes were also detectable after switching to ad libitum feeding. Among the physiological changes induced by these phases of dietary restriction, a reduced metabolic rate and a substantial and long-lasting reduction in insulin signaling were most compelling. Age associated molecular signatures comprising mechanisms that reduce insulin signaling showed up after longer periods of dietary restriction in the fly’s fat body, thus showing how molecular alterations transduce into life span related physiological changes.
Project description:In order to get an insight into the complex interplay of miRNAs in dietary restriction, we profiled the small RNA polulation of wild-type and eat-2(ad1116) worms on Day 1 and Day 8 of adulthood by Next Generation sequencing. We compared the normalized expression of wild-type vs eat-2(ad1116) on either day 1 or day 8 and found that most of the miRNAs were distinctly upregulated in eat-2(ad1116) on day 1. We performed Next Generation sequencing to compare miRNA profiles of wild-type and eat-2(ad1116) at Day 1 and Day 8
Project description:Dietary restriction (also known as caloric/calorie restriction; CR) extends the lifespan of species from all three eukaryotic kingdoms. The restriction of the diet interferes directly with the aging process by triggering a tightly controlled genetic program where specific sets of genes are either upregulated downreguled. We used microarray-technology to detail the global program of gene expression underlying the anti-aging effect of dietary restriction and identified distinct classes of up- and down-regulated genes. In order to apply dietary restriction in budding yeast we cultured cells on a reduced glucose medium (0.5% vs. 2.0%), which is known as moderate DR regimen. We then compared mRNA expression of yeast cells cultured under dietary restricted (0.5% glucose) and ad libitum (2.0% glucose) conditions.
Project description:Dietary restriction (DR) is the most powerful natural means to extend lifespan. Here we obtain temporally resolved transcriptomes during calorie restriction and intermittent fasting in Caenorhabditis elegans, and find that early and late responses involve metabolism and cell cycle/DNA damage, respectively.
Project description:Dietary protein dilution (DPD) promotes metabolic remodelling and health but the precise nutritional components driving this response remain elusive. Here we demonstrate that dietary amino acids (AA) are sufficient and necessary to drive the response to DPD. In particular, the restriction of dietary essential AA (EAA) supply, but not non-EAA, drives the systemic metabolic response to total AA deprivation. Furthermore, systemic deprivation of Thr and Trp, independent of total AA supply, are both adequate and necessary to confer the systemic metabolic response to both diet, and genetic AA-transport loss, driven AA restriction. Thr is also potentially limiting in low-protein diet fed humans, and dietary Thr restriction (DTR) retarded the development of obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction in mice. Liver-derived fibroblast growth factor 21 was required for the metabolic remodelling with DTR. Strikingly, hepatocyte-selective establishment of Thr biosynthetic capacity reversed the systemic response to DTR. Taken together, our studies demonstrate that the restriction of EAA are sufficient and necessary to confer the systemic metabolic effects of DPD.
Project description:Expression data from four different lifespan-extending conditions: dietary restriction in two different genetic backgrounds (canton-s and a yw, w1118 combination), sir2 overexpression and p53 knockdown (+/-). Comparison of significantly over and under-expressed genes reveals a signature for dietary restriction and lifespan extension. Abstract A major challenge in translating the positive effects of dietary restriction (DR) for the improvement of human health is the development of therapeutic mimics. One approach to finding DR mimics is based upon identification of the proximal effectors of DR life span extension. Whole genome profiling of DR in Drosophila shows a large number of changes in gene expression, making it difficult to establish which changes are involved in life span determination as opposed to other unrelated physiological changes. We used comparative whole genome expression profiling to discover genes whose change in expression is shared between DR and two molecular genetic life span extending interventions related to DR, increased dSir2 and decreased Dmp53 activity. We find twenty-one genes shared among the three related life span extending interventions. One of these genes, takeout, thought to be involved in circadian rhythms, feeding behavior and juvenile hormone binding is also increased in four other life span extending conditions: Rpd3, Indy, chico and methuselah. We demonstrate takeout is involved in longevity determination by specifically increasing adult takeout expression and extending life span. These studies demonstrate the power of comparative whole genome transcriptional profiling for identifying specific downstream elements of the DR life span extending pathway.