Multi-omics analysis identifies essential regulators of mitochondrial stress response in two wild-type C. elegans strains

Abstract

The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) is a promising pharmacological target for aging and age-related diseases. However, the integrative analysis of the impact of UPRmt activation on different layers of signaling in animals with a different genetic background is lacking. In this study, we applied systems approaches to investigate the effect of UPRmt induced by administering doxycycline (Dox) on transcriptome, proteome, lipidome, and metabolome in two genetically divergent C. elegans strains. We found that Dox prolongs lifespan of both worm strains through pathways in both shared and strain-specific manners. From the integrated omics datasets, we observed a strong impact of Dox on mitochondrial functions, detected upregulated defense response and lipid metabolism, identified decreased triglycerides and lowered metabolome profiles in both strains. This conserved phenomic footprint has great translational value as it indicates that the beneficial effects of Dox-induced UPRmt on health and lifespan are consistent across different genetic backgrounds.