A C. elegans mutant that lives twice as long as wild type (original) (raw)

Nature volume 366, pages 461–464 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

WE have found that mutations in the gene _daf_-2 can cause fertile, active, adult Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites to live more than twice as long as wild type. This lifespan extension, the largest yet reported in any organism1, requires the activity of a second gene, _daf_-16. Both genes also regulate formation of the dauer larva, a developmentally arrested larval form that is induced by crowding and starvation and is very long-lived2–4. Our findings raise the possibility that the longevity of the dauer is not simply a consequence of its arrested growth, but instead results from a regulated lifespan extension mechanism that can be uncoupled from other aspects of dauer formation, _daf_-2 and _daf_-16 provide entry points into understanding how lifespan can be extended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 94143-0554, USA
    Cynthia Kenyon, Jean Chang, Erin Gensch, Adam Rudner & Ramon Tabtiang

Authors

  1. Cynthia Kenyon
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  2. Jean Chang
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  3. Erin Gensch
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  4. Adam Rudner
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  5. Ramon Tabtiang
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Kenyon, C., Chang, J., Gensch, E. et al. A C. elegans mutant that lives twice as long as wild type.Nature 366, 461–464 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/366461a0

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