What governs how fast we age? Why do some biological processes stop working earlier than others? And what is happening at the molecular and cellular level as some organisms age while others continue to thrive?
Although seemingly philosophical in nature, these questions address one of the major mysteries of biology, the process of aging. With recent developments in genetics, molecular biology, and genomics, we now have the possibility of addressing these questions at the molecular level. Because our ultimate goal is not simply to extend lifespan, but to improve overall health, we must identify the genes associated with biological functions that we typically associate with quality of life. The goal of our laboratory's work is to understand the molecular mechanisms governing longevity and maintenance of the biological processes that exhibit age-related decline.
Recent Publications
A small RNA from a clinical isolate of PA14, induces learned avoidance and its transgenerational inheritance in . However, it is not known if small RNAs from bacteria found in natural habitat can regulate host behavior and produce heritable behavioral effects. Here we found that GRb0427, a pathogenic strain isolated from the microbiota,…
BACKGROUND: Previous genetic evidence suggested that the C. elegans TGF-beta Dauer pathway is responsible solely for the regulation of dauer formation, with no role in longevity regulation, whereas the insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) pathway regulates both dauer formation and longevity.
RESULTS: We have uncovered a significant…
Interactions between the germ line and the soma help optimize reproductive success. We discovered a phenomenon linking reproductive status to longevity: In both hermaphroditic and gonochoristic Caenorhabditis, mating leads to female shrinking and death, compressing postreproductive life span. Male sperm induces germline- and DAF-9/DAF-12…
Nucleotides are required in order to replicate DNA in the developing germline. Here, Chi and colleagues (pp. 307-320) have used Caernohabditis elegans to identify a GLP-1-dependent checkpoint that senses food (bacterially)-supplied nucleotide levels, arresting reproductive development in the absence of sufficient nucleotide supplies.
Differences in longevity between sexes is a mysterious yet general phenomenon across great evolutionary distances. To test the roles of responses to environmental cues and sexual behaviors in longevity regulation, we examined \textitCaenorhabditis male lifespan under solitary, grouped, and mated conditions. We find that neurons and the germline…
How mating affects male lifespan is poorly understood. Using single worm lifespan assays, we discovered that males live significantly shorter after mating in both androdioecious (male and hermaphroditic) and gonochoristic (male and female) Caenorhabditis. Germline-dependent shrinking, glycogen loss, and ectopic expression of vitellogenins…
Lifespan is shortened by mating, but these deleterious effects must be delayed long enough for successful reproduction. Susceptibility to brief mating-induced death is caused by the loss of protection upon self-sperm depletion. Self-sperm maintains the expression of a DAF-2 insulin-like antagonist, INS-37, which promotes the nuclear…
Contact information
Carl Icahn Lab 140
Princeton University
Princeton NJ, 08540
Lab phone: 609-258–9505