daf-16: An HNF-3/forkhead family member that can function to double the life-span of Caenorhabditis elegans.
The wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans nematode ages rapidly, undergoing development, senescence, and death in less than 3 weeks. In contrast, mutants with reduced activity of the gene daf-2, a homolog of the insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptors, age more slowly than normal and live more than twice as long. These mutants are active and fully fertile and have normal metabolic rates. The life-span extension caused by daf-2 mutations requires the activity of the gene daf-16. daf-16 appears to play a unique role in life-span regulation and encodes a member of the hepatocyte nuclear factor 3 (HNF-3)/forkhead family of transcriptional regulators. In humans, insulin down-regulates the expression of certain genes by antagonizing the activity of HNF-3, raising the possibility that aspects of this regulatory system have been conserved.
Lin
K
K
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143-0554, USA.
Dorman
J B
JB
Rodan
A
A
Kenyon
C
C
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000502:physiology; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D011972:Receptor, Insulin / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D007328:Insulin; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D013002:Somatomedins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C108831:daf-16 protein, C elegans; C107483:DAF-2 protein, C elegans; D011972:Receptor, Insulin