The Growth-Promoting Activity of Several Lipid-Related Compounds in the Free-Living Nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae

Lu, Nancy C.; Hugenberg, G.; Briggs, George M.; Stokstad, E. L. R.

doi:10.3181/00379727-158-40168

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…can use ethanol as an energy source (57) and C. briggsae incubated in ethanol concentrations similar to the present study have significantly increased population growth (58). Furthermore, L1 larvae lacking sodh-1 do not have increased survival when incubated with ethanol (20), presumably because they are unable to metabolize the ethanol.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Ethanol-induced differential gene expression and acetyl-CoA metabolism in a longevity model of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Patananan¹,

Budenholzer²,

Eskin

et al. 2015

Experimental Gerontology

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Previous studies have shown that exposing adults of the soil-dwelling nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to concentrations of ethanol in the range of 100 – 400 mM results in slowed locomotion, decreased fertility, and reduced longevity. On the contrary, lower concentrations of ethanol (0.86 – 68 mM) have been shown to cause a two- to three-fold increase in the life span of animals in the stress resistant L1 larval stage in the absence of a food source. However, little is known about how gene and protein expression is altered by low concentrations of ethanol and the mechanism for the increased longevity. Therefore, we used biochemical assays and next generation mRNA sequencing to identify genes and biological pathways altered by ethanol. RNA-seq analysis of L1 larvae incubated in the presence of 17 mM ethanol resulted in the significant differential expression of 649 genes, 274 of which were downregulated and 375 were upregulated. Many of the genes significantly altered were associated with the conversion of ethanol and triglycerides to acetyl-CoA and glucose, suggesting that ethanol is serving as an energy source in the increased longevity of the L1 larvae as well as a signal for fat utilization. We also asked if L1 larvae could sense ethanol and respond by directed movement. Although we found that L1 larvae can chemotax to benzaldehyde, we observed little or no chemotaxis to ethanol. Understanding how low concentrations of ethanol increase the lifespan of L1 larvae may provide insight into not only the longevity pathways in C. elegans, but also in those of higher organisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Ethanol-induced differential gene expression and acetyl-CoA metabolism in a longevity model of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Patananan¹,

Budenholzer²,

Eskin

et al. 2015

Experimental Gerontology

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“…Isobutanol, but not isopropanol, was found to extend starvation survival. Since pathways for the conversion of ethanol and n-propanol to central metabolic intermediates via oxidation to acetyl-CoA and propionyl-CoA are known [26], [27], these results suggest that L1 larvae may be able to use these alcohols as carbon and energy sources. The metabolism of the other alcohols by C. elegans has not been studied to our knowledge, but the oxidation of n-butanol to n-butryl-CoA seems reasonable.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Caenorhabditis elegans Battling Starvation Stress: Low Levels of Ethanol Prolong Lifespan in L1 Larvae

et al. 2012

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The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans arrests development at the first larval stage if food is not present upon hatching. Larvae in this stage provide an excellent model for studying stress responses during development. We found that supplementing starved larvae with ethanol markedly extends their lifespan within this L1 diapause. The effects of ethanol-induced lifespan extension can be observed when the ethanol is added to the medium at any time between 0 and 10 days after hatching. The lowest ethanol concentration that extended lifespan was 1 mM (0.005%); higher concentrations to 68 mM (0.4%) did not result in increased survival. In spite of their extended survival, larvae did not progress to the L2 stage. Supplementing starved cultures with n-propanol and n-butanol also extended lifespan, but methanol and isopropanol had no measurable effect. Mass spectrometry analysis of nematode fatty acids and amino acids revealed that L1 larvae can incorporate atoms from ethanol into both types of molecules. Based on these data, we suggest that ethanol supplementation may extend the lifespan of L1 larvae by either serving as a carbon and energy source and/or by inducing a stress response.

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“…Chemically defined media that support long-term culture of the related nematode C. briggsae have been developed (Buecher et al 1966;Hieb and Rothstein 1968;Hieb et al 1970;Lu et al 1978). These culture conditions were adapted for the study of C. elegans by Lu and Goetsch (1993), and the growth characteristics of C. elegans in fully defined medium were described by Szewczyk et al (2003Szewczyk et al ( , 2006.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cation Diffusion Facilitator Gene cdf-2 Mediates Zinc Metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans

et al. 2009

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Zinc is essential for many cellular processes. To use Caenorhabditis elegans to study zinc metabolism, we developed culture conditions allowing full control of dietary zinc and methods to measure zinc content of animals. Dietary zinc dramatically affected growth and zinc content; wild-type worms survived from 7 mm to 1.3 mm dietary zinc, and zinc content varied 27-fold. We investigated cdf-2, which encodes a predicted zinc transporter in the cation diffusion facilitator family. cdf-2 mRNA levels were increased by high dietary zinc, suggesting cdf-2 promotes zinc homeostasis. CDF-2 protein was expressed in intestinal cells and localized to cytosolic vesicles. A cdf-2 loss-of-function mutant displayed impaired growth and reduced zinc content, indicating that CDF-2 stores zinc by transport into the lumen of vesicles. The relationships between three cdf genes, cdf-1, cdf-2, and sur-7, were analyzed in double and triple mutant animals. A cdf-1 mutant displayed increased zinc content, whereas a cdf-1 cdf-2 double mutant had intermediate zinc content, suggesting cdf-1 and cdf-2 have antagonistic functions. These studies advance C. elegans as a model of zinc metabolism and identify cdf-2 as a new gene that has a critical role in zinc storage.

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The Growth-Promoting Activity of Several Lipid-Related Compounds in the Free-Living Nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae

Cited by 10 publications

References 2 publications

Ethanol-induced differential gene expression and acetyl-CoA metabolism in a longevity model of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Ethanol-induced differential gene expression and acetyl-CoA metabolism in a longevity model of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans Battling Starvation Stress: Low Levels of Ethanol Prolong Lifespan in L1 Larvae

The Cation Diffusion Facilitator Gene cdf-2 Mediates Zinc Metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans

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