Journal Article

An excreted small molecule promotes C. elegans reproductive development and aging

Gudibanda, Pooja, Schroeder, Frank C., Aprison, Erin Z., Burkhardt, Russell N., Artyukhin, Alexander B., Panda, Oishika, Zhang, Ying K., Ludewig, Andreas H., Ruvinsky, Ilya, Rodrigues, Pedro R., Pulido, Dania C.

2019

Overview

Excreted small-molecule signals can bias developmental trajectories and physiology in diverse animal species. However, the chemical identity of these signals remains largely obscure. Here we report identification of an unusual N -acylated glutamine derivative, nacq#1, that accelerates reproductive development and shortens lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans . Produced predominantly by C. elegans males, nacq#1 hastens onset of sexual maturity in hermaphrodites by promoting exit from the larval dauer diapause and by accelerating late larval development. Even at picomolar concentrations, nacq#1 shortens hermaphrodite lifespan, suggesting a trade-off between reproductive investment and longevity. Acceleration of development by nacq#1 requires chemosensation and is dependent on three homologs of vertebrate steroid hormone receptors. Unlike ascaroside pheromones, which are restricted to nematodes, fatty acylated amino acid derivatives similar to nacq#1 have been reported from humans and invertebrates, suggesting that related compounds may serve signaling functions throughout metazoa. Male C. elegans excrete an N -acylated glutamine that acts via evolutionarily conserved nuclear hormone receptor and chemosensory pathways to counteract dauer diapause and accelerate sexual maturation of hermaphrodites, at the cost of shortening hermaphrodite lifespan.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group US,Nature Publishing Group
• Subject: 631/136 / 631/136/334/1582/712 / 631/443/494 / 631/92/320 / 631/92/349 / Acceleration / Aging / Aging - physiology / Amino acids / Animal species / Animals / Biochemical Engineering / Biochemistry / Bioorganic Chemistry / Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism / Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism / Cell Biology / Chemistry / Chemistry and Materials Science / Chemistry/Food Science / Chemoreception / Diapause / Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental - physiology / Glutamine / Hermaphrodites / Hermaphroditic Organisms - physiology / Homology / Invertebrates / Larval development / Life span / Male / Mutation / Nematodes / Organic chemistry / Oviposition - physiology / Pheromones / Receptors / Sexual maturity / Signal Transduction / Steroid hormone receptors / Steroids / Vertebrates / Worms