title: Genetic dissection of late-life fertility in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: The large post-reproductive life span reported for the free-living hermaphroditic nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which lives for about 10 days after its 5-day period of self-reproduction, seems at odds with evolutionary theory. Species with long post-reproductive life spans such as mammals are sometimes explained by a need for parental care or transfer of information. This does not seem a suitable explanation for C elegans. Previous reports have shown that C elegans can regain fertility when mated after the self-fertile period but did not report the functional limits. Here, we report the functional life span of the C elegans germ line when mating with males. We show that C elegans can regain fertility late in life (significantly later than in previous reports) and that the end of this period corresponds quite well to its 3-week total life span. Genetic analysis reveals that late-life fertility is controlled by conserved pathways involved with aging and dietary restriction.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA. alexander.mendenhall@colorado.edu
authors.forename: Alexander R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mendenhall
authors.forename: Deqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Sang-Kyu
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Cypser
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Tedesco
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Link
authors.forename: Patrick C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000502:physiology; D006066:Gonads / Q000502:physiology; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors