title: Males shorten the life span of C. elegans hermaphrodites via secreted compounds.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Travis J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Maures
authors.forename: Lauren N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.forename: Bérénice A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Benayoun
authors.forename: Yevgeniy
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Izrayelit
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brunet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017238:Genes, Helminth / Q000235:genetics; D008136:Longevity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference
chemical_list: C474339:CHE-13 protein, C elegans; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; C586472:Ins-11 protein, C elegans; D036361:Peptide Hormones