Investigating Connections between Metabolism, Longevity, and Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.
An overview of Caenorhabditis elegans as an experimental organism for studying energy balance is presented. Some of the unresolved questions that complicate the interpretation of lipid measurements from C. elegans are highlighted. We review studies that show that both lipid synthesis and lipid breakdown pathways are activated and needed for the longevity of hermaphrodites that lack their germlines. These findings illustrate the heterogeneity of triglyceride-rich lipid particles in C. elegans and reveal specific lipid signals that promote longevity. Finally, we provide a brief overview of feeding behavioral responses of C. elegans to varying nutritional conditions and highlight an unanticipated metabolic pathway that allows the incorporation of experience in feeding behavior.
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
George A
GA
Lemieux
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: kaveh.ashrafi@ucsf.edu.
Kaveh
K
Ashrafi
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
Caenorhabditis elegans; aging; feeding; germline; lipids; satiety.; yolk