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When a gene that increases lifespan in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans is deleted, the worms fight off a bacterial infection for twice as long as worms with the gene, researchers report in a study published today (July 17) in Nature Communications. The gene TCER-1 is needed for producing eggs and healthy offspring. But the study found that expression of the gene during the fertile stages of life may make the worms more vulnerable to pathogens and external stressors.
Longevity-associated genes generally help organisms deal with stress, coauthor Arjumand Ghazi of the University of Pittsburgh tells Science News. Ghazi and her collaborators previously reported that TCER-1 increases C. elegans’ lifespan, and they expected to find other benefits for it in the current study. Then they saw the results, “I was sure I'd made a mistake somewhere,” says coauthor Francis Amrit of the University of Pittsburgh in a press ...
