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Reproductive Suicide: Similar Mechanisms of Aging in C. elegans and Pacific Salmon

Gems, D; Kern, CC; Nour, J; Ezcurra, M; (2021) Reproductive Suicide: Similar Mechanisms of Aging in C. elegans and Pacific Salmon. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology , 9 , Article 688788. 10.3389/fcell.2021.688788. Green open access

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Abstract

In some species of salmon, reproductive maturity triggers the development of massive pathology resulting from reproductive effort, leading to rapid post-reproductive death. Such reproductive death, which occurs in many semelparous organisms (with a single bout of reproduction), can be prevented by blocking reproductive maturation, and this can increase lifespan dramatically. Reproductive death is often viewed as distinct from senescence in iteroparous organisms (with multiple bouts of reproduction) such as humans. Here we review the evidence that reproductive death occurs in C. elegans and discuss what this means for its use as a model organism to study aging. Inhibiting insulin/IGF-1 signaling and germline removal suppresses reproductive death and greatly extends lifespan in C. elegans, but can also extend lifespan to a small extent in iteroparous organisms. We argue that mechanisms of senescence operative in reproductive death exist in a less catastrophic form in iteroparous organisms, particularly those that involve costly resource reallocation, and exhibit endocrine-regulated plasticity. Thus, mechanisms of senescence in semelparous organisms (including plants) and iteroparous ones form an etiological continuum. Therefore understanding mechanisms of reproductive death in C. elegans can teach us about some mechanisms of senescence that are operative in iteroparous organisms.

Type: Article
Title: Reproductive Suicide: Similar Mechanisms of Aging in C. elegans and Pacific Salmon
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.688788
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.688788
Language: English
Additional information: © 2021 Gems, Kern, Nour and Ezcurra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: aging, C. elegans, programmatic aging, reproductive death, semelparity, senescent pathology
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Genetics, Evolution and Environment
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135156
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