title: Hydraas a tractable, long-lived model system for senescence.
abstract: Hydrarepresents a unique model system for the study of senescence, with the opportunity for the comparison of non-aging and induced senescence.Hydramaintains three stem cell lineages, used for continuous tissue morphogenesis and replacement. Recent work has elucidated the roles of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling target FoxO, of Myc proteins, and of PIWI proteins inHydrastem cells. Under laboratory culture conditions,Hydra vulgarisshow no signs of aging even under long-term study. In contrast,Hydra oligactiscan be experimentally induced to undergo reproduction-associated senescence. This provides a powerful comparative system for future studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Pomona College , Claremont , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bellantuono
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Elizabethtown College , Elizabethtown , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bridge
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Pomona College , Claremont , CA , USA.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Martínez
keywords: FoxO; Hydra; longevity; piRNAs; senescence; stem cells