Reproductive death and adaptive ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Applicant: Dr. Jennifer Lohr
• Subject Area: Evolutionary Cell and Developmental Biology (Zoology) ; Evolution, Anthropology
• Term: from 2016 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 323241828

New work from the Gems lab has revealed the rapid development of senescent pathology in C. elegans hermaphrodites that is suggestive of semelparity. Moreover, the occurrence of reproductive death combined with the fact that mother and offspring are genetically identical, makes it theoretically possible that senescence in C. elegans is a positively selected trait. This project will explore the possible existence of semelparity and adaptive ageing in C. elegans. Investigations of semelparity will form the bulk of the proposed work. These will focus upon the conversion of intestinal biomass into pools of yolk, which accumulate within the body cavity as worms age. I will test the hypothesis that such biomass conversion, which causes major intestinal atrophy in post-reproductive selfed animals, promotes fitness in other reproductive contexts, particularly in animals with viviparity and endotoky (where mothers die with internally hatched larvae). The possibility of adaptive ageing will be tentatively explored, initially by testing whether inhibiting maternal death during endotoky reduces fecundity. Biomass conversion will be blocked using RNAi knockdowns of the genes involved in the conversion pathway. Also to better characterize which reproductive modes predominate in wild C. elegans, I will establish and monitor semi-wild outdoor populations. These studies will help to understand resource transfer between parent and offspring, and will add to the understanding of ageing and its evolution in C. elegans. Particularly, my results will explore whether ageing in this species is the result of semelparity and/or adaptive ageing. Positive findings in either case would transform the conception of what ageing is in this important animal model.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Host: Professor David Gems, Ph.D.