title: RNAi Interrogation of Dietary Modulation of Development, Metabolism, Behavior, and Aging in C. elegans.
abstract: Diet affects nearly every aspect of animal life such as development, metabolism, behavior, and aging, both directly by supplying nutrients and indirectly through gut microbiota. C. elegans feeds on bacteria, and like other animals, different bacterial diets induce distinct dietary responses in the worm. However, the lack of certain critical tools hampers the use of worms as a model for dietary signaling. Here, we genetically engineered the bacterial strain OP50, the standard laboratory diet for C. elegans, making it compatible for dsRNA production and delivery. Using this RNAi-compatible OP50 strain and the other bacterial strain HT115, we feed worms different diets while delivering RNAi to interrogate the genetic basis underlying diet-dependent differential modulation of development, metabolism, behavior, and aging. We show by RNAi that neuroendocrine and mTOR pathways are involved in mediating differential dietary responses. This genetic tool greatly facilitates the use of C. elegans as a model for dietary signaling.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ronan
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China; Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of MOE, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: shawnxu@umich.edu.
authors.forename: X Z Shawn
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D023421:Models, Animal; D034622:RNA Interference