Project description:Reproductive cessation is perhaps the earliest aging phenotypes humans experience. Similarly, C. elegans' reproduction ceases in mid-adulthood. Although somatic aging has been studied in both worms and humans, mechanisms regulating reproductive aging are not yet understood. Here we show that TGF-beta Sma/Mab activity regulates reproductive aging transcriptionally separable from its regulation of body size growth. This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE23446: Reproductive aging: sma-2;fem-1 day 8 oocyte vs fem-1 day 8 oocyte GSE23447: Reproductive aging: fem-1 day 3 oocyte vs fem-1 day 8 oocyte GSE23448: Body size regulation and TGF-beta Sma/Mab pathway: sma L4 vs N2 L4 Refer to individual Series
Project description:To find genes downstream of the TGF-beta Sma/Mab pathway associated with body size regulation in C. elegans. Three replicates comparing RNA from sma-2(e502) L4 whole animal with RNA from wild-type L4 whole animal, in which one is dye flipped. Plus one array comparing RNA from sma-4(e729) L4 whole animal with RNA from wild-type L4 whole animal.
Project description:Smads and their transcription factor partners mediate the transcriptional responses of target cells to secreted ligands of the Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) family, including those of the conserved bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family, yet only a small number of direct target genes have been well characterized. In C. elegans, the BMP2/4 ortholog DBL-1 regulates multiple biological functions, including body size, via a canonical receptor-Smad signaling cascade. Here, we identify functional binding sites for SMA-3/Smad and its transcriptional partner SMA-9/Schnurri based on ChIP-seq peaks (identified by modEncode) and expression differences of nearby genes identified from RNA-seq analysis of corresponding mutants. We found that SMA-3 and SMA-9 have both overlapping and unique target genes. At a genome-wide scale, SMA-3/Smad acts as a transcriptional activator, whereas SMA-9/Schnurri direct targets include both activated and repressed genes. Mutations in sma-9 partially suppress the small body size phenotype of sma-3, suggesting some level of antagonism between these factors and challenging the prevailing model for Schnurri function. A functional analysis of direct target genes revealed a novel role in body size for genes involved in one-carbon metabolism and in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) secretory pathway, including the disulfide reductase dpy-11. Our findings indicate that Smads and SMA-9/Schnurri have previously unappreciated complex genetic and genomic regulatory interactions that in turn regulate the secretion of extracellular components like collagen into the cuticle to mediate body size regulation.
Project description:Comparison of gene expression profiles from C. elegans mutant strains (MIR73, MIR75 or MIR77) overexpressing genes involved in proline metabolism (B0513.5 or T22H6.2) with wildtype strain (N2) at 5 days after L4 larvae stage. Jena Centre for Systems Biology of Ageing - JenAge (www.jenage.de)
Project description:Reproductive cessation is perhaps the earliest aging phenotypes humans experience. Similarly, C. elegans' reproduction ceases in mid-adulthood. Although somatic aging has been studied in both worms and humans, mechanisms regulating reproductive aging are not yet understood. Here we show that TGF-beta Sma/Mab activity regulates reproductive aging transcriptionally separable from its regulation of body size growth. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below.
