Large extension of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan in diluted axenic medium : a balancing act between different survival responses
- Author
- Ping Wu (UGent) , Lieselot Vandemeulebroucke, Kevin Rey Guiritan and Bart Braeckman (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- Axenic dietary restriction (ADR) represents a powerful and unique DR regimen for C. elegans as it robustly extends lifespan independently of well-known key genes associated with DR, such as those of insulin/IGF-1 signaling, skn-1, and pha-4. Here, we analyze C. elegans survival in a dilution series of axenic medium to explore the dependency of lifespan extension on nutrient availability. We find a non-linear relationship between lifespan and axenic nutrient levels with a four-fold axenic dilution yielding peak longevity. Notably, lifespan extension at specific dilutions permits maintenance of reproductive potential and survivability after bacterial reintroduction, indicating a partial reliance on adult reproductive diapause mechanisms. Genetic analyses found the involvement of AMPK/aak-2, sir-2.1, and cbp-1 in mediating lifespan extension across the axenic dilution spectrum, the essential role of daf-16 and hlh-30 under severe nutrient scarcity, and the specific contribution of bli-4 to standard ADR longevity. These findings elucidate that C. elegans lifespan extension under different levels of nutrient restriction is governed by overlapping yet distinct genetic pathways.
- Keywords
- axenic dietary restriction (ADR), lifespan extension, adult reproductive diapause, nutrient dilution, C. elegans, axenic dietary restriction, DIETARY RESTRICTION, CELL-GROWTH, LONGEVITY, GENETICS, NEURONS, CBP-1
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01JXZ27HC2WDC1X515YXX9RVCQ
- MLA
- Wu, Ping, et al. “Large Extension of Caenorhabditis Elegans Lifespan in Diluted Axenic Medium : A Balancing Act between Different Survival Responses.” JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES, vol. 80, no. 8, 2025, doi:10.1093/gerona/glaf129.
- APA
- Wu, P., Vandemeulebroucke, L., Guiritan, K. R., & Braeckman, B. (2025). Large extension of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan in diluted axenic medium : a balancing act between different survival responses. JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES, 80(8). https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaf129
- Chicago author-date
- Wu, Ping, Lieselot Vandemeulebroucke, Kevin Rey Guiritan, and Bart Braeckman. 2025. “Large Extension of Caenorhabditis Elegans Lifespan in Diluted Axenic Medium : A Balancing Act between Different Survival Responses.” JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES 80 (8). https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaf129.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Wu, Ping, Lieselot Vandemeulebroucke, Kevin Rey Guiritan, and Bart Braeckman. 2025. “Large Extension of Caenorhabditis Elegans Lifespan in Diluted Axenic Medium : A Balancing Act between Different Survival Responses.” JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES 80 (8). doi:10.1093/gerona/glaf129.
- Vancouver
- 1.Wu P, Vandemeulebroucke L, Guiritan KR, Braeckman B. Large extension of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan in diluted axenic medium : a balancing act between different survival responses. JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES. 2025;80(8).
- IEEE
- [1]P. Wu, L. Vandemeulebroucke, K. R. Guiritan, and B. Braeckman, “Large extension of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan in diluted axenic medium : a balancing act between different survival responses,” JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES, vol. 80, no. 8, 2025.
@article{01JXZ27HC2WDC1X515YXX9RVCQ,
abstract = {{Axenic dietary restriction (ADR) represents a powerful and unique DR regimen for C. elegans as it robustly extends lifespan independently of well-known key genes associated with DR, such as those of insulin/IGF-1 signaling, skn-1, and pha-4. Here, we analyze C. elegans survival in a dilution series of axenic medium to explore the dependency of lifespan extension on nutrient availability. We find a non-linear relationship between lifespan and axenic nutrient levels with a four-fold axenic dilution yielding peak longevity. Notably, lifespan extension at specific dilutions permits maintenance of reproductive potential and survivability after bacterial reintroduction, indicating a partial reliance on adult reproductive diapause mechanisms. Genetic analyses found the involvement of AMPK/aak-2, sir-2.1, and cbp-1 in mediating lifespan extension across the axenic dilution spectrum, the essential role of daf-16 and hlh-30 under severe nutrient scarcity, and the specific contribution of bli-4 to standard ADR longevity. These findings elucidate that C. elegans lifespan extension under different levels of nutrient restriction is governed by overlapping yet distinct genetic pathways.}},
articleno = {{glaf129}},
author = {{Wu, Ping and Vandemeulebroucke, Lieselot and Guiritan, Kevin Rey and Braeckman, Bart}},
issn = {{1079-5006}},
journal = {{JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES}},
keywords = {{axenic dietary restriction (ADR),lifespan extension,adult reproductive diapause,nutrient dilution,C. elegans,axenic dietary restriction,DIETARY RESTRICTION,CELL-GROWTH,LONGEVITY,GENETICS,NEURONS,CBP-1}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{8}},
pages = {{11}},
title = {{Large extension of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan in diluted axenic medium : a balancing act between different survival responses}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaf129}},
volume = {{80}},
year = {{2025}},
}
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