Title |
Control of intestinal bacterial proliferation in regulation of lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans
|
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Published in |
BMC Microbiology, March 2012
|
DOI | 10.1186/1471-2180-12-49 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Cynthia Portal-Celhay, Ellen R Bradley, Martin J Blaser |
Abstract |
A powerful approach to understanding complex processes such as aging is to use model organisms amenable to genetic manipulation, and to seek relevant phenotypes to measure. Caenorhabditis elegans is particularly suited to studies of aging, since numerous single-gene mutations have been identified that affect its lifespan; it possesses an innate immune system employing evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways affecting longevity. As worms age, bacteria accumulate in the intestinal tract. However, quantitative relationships between worm genotype, lifespan, and intestinal lumen bacterial load have not been examined. We hypothesized that gut immunity is less efficient in older animals, leading to enhanced bacterial accumulation, reducing longevity. To address this question, we evaluated the ability of worms to control bacterial accumulation as a functional marker of intestinal immunity. |
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