Males Shorten the Life Span of C. elegans Hermaphrodites via Secreted Compounds

How an individual's longevity is affected by the opposite sex is still largely unclear. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the presence of males accelerated aging and shortened the life span of individuals of the opposite sex (hermaphrodites), including long-lived or sterile hermaphrodites...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2014-01, Vol.343 (6170), p.541-544
Main Authors: Maures, Travis J., Booth, Lauren N., Benayoun, Bérénice A., Izrayelit, Yevgeniy, Schroeder, Frank C., Brunet, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Animals
Biological Evolution
Caenorhabditis
Caenorhabditis elegans - drug effects
Caenorhabditis elegans - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans - physiology
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics
Carrier Proteins - genetics
culture media
Culture Media, Conditioned - metabolism
Culture Media, Conditioned - pharmacology
Diptera
DNA
Evolution
Female
females
fruit flies
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation
Genes, Helminth - genetics
hermaphroditism
Insulin
legs
Life span
Longevity
Longevity - drug effects
Longevity - genetics
Longevity - physiology
Male
Male animals
Males
metabolism
mothers
Nematodes
Neurons
Peptide Hormones - genetics
Pheromones
progeny
RNA Interference
sensory receptors
starvation
Statistical significance
stress tolerance
Worms
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:How an individual's longevity is affected by the opposite sex is still largely unclear. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the presence of males accelerated aging and shortened the life span of individuals of the opposite sex (hermaphrodites), including long-lived or sterile hermaphrodites. The male-induced demise could occur without mating and required only exposure of hermaphrodites to medium in which males were once present. Such communication through pheromones or other diffusible substances points to a nonindividual autonomous mode of aging regulation. The male-induced demise also occurred in other species of nematodes, suggesting an evolutionary conserved process whereby males may induce the disposal of the opposite sex to save resources for the next generation or to prevent competition from other males.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1244160