GENES WITH MAJOR EFFECTS ON LIFE SPAN IN C ELEGANS

描述（改编自申请人摘要）：在线虫中 秀丽隐杆线虫饥饿或过度拥挤的条件下可能激活 一个发育的开关， 被逮捕的，非喂养的动物，是生产。 过去的调查 确定了两种dauer-组成性突变，导致动物 在食物充足的情况下形成dauer幼虫， 在正常诱导下阻止dauer形成的突变 条件 最近，温度敏感的dauer组成型等位基因 daf-2基因的突变已经被证明可以延长成年人的寿命（ 通过基因DAF-16中的dauer缺陷突变来防止）。 此外，daf-12和daf-23的突变也会影响这一过程。 本研究的目的是了解特定的daf基因 影响寿命，并利用这些基因来了解分子和 决定寿命的生理过程。重点 将对daf-2和daf-12基因进行分析。 的 这两个基因的完整序列和表达模式将被 在后面的实验中特别强调， 确定特定的细胞是否对寿命很重要 保持战略定力 下游靶点或基因相互作用或调节 这些基因也会被寻找。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from the applicant's abstract): In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans starvation or overcrowded conditions may activate a developmental switch so that the dauer larvae, a developmental arrested, non- feeding animal, is produced. Past investigations have identified both dauer- constitutive mutations, which cause animals to form dauer larvae in the presence of abundant food, and dauer-defective mutations, which prevent dauer formation under normal inducing conditions. Recently, temperature-sensitive dauer-constitutive alleles of the gene daf-2 have been shown to prolong adult lifespan (and be prevented by dauer-defective mutations in the gene daf-16). Additionally, mutations in daf-12 and daf-23 also affect this process. The goal of the present proposal is to understand how specific daf genes affect life span and to use these genes to understand the molecular and physiological processes that underlie life span determination. Emphasis will be placed on the analysis of the daf-2 and daf-12 genes. The complete sequences and patterns of expressions of both genes will be determined with particular emphasis in the latter experiments to ascertain whether specific cells are important for life-span determination. Downstream targets or genes interacting with or regulated by these genes will also be sought.