| Institution: | (1) Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 164–8639 Tokyo, Japan;(2) Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 113-8657 Tokyo, Japan;(3) RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 351–0198 Saitama, Japan;(4) Present address: School of Fisheries Sciences, Kitasato University, 022-0101 Iwate, Japan |
| Abstract: | Rotifers have been used to study the mechanisms of ageing for more than a century, but the underlying molecular basis of ageing in rotifers is largely unknown. The insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) signaling pathway has been found to regulate the lifespan of evolutionarily distinct eukaryotes from yeast to mammals. We therefore assume that the insulin/IGF-1 pathway is a candidate for regulating the rotifer’s lifespan. Accordingly, we examined the action of an inhibitor to PI3-kinase involved in the pathway for the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis O. F. Müller. This kinase was first discovered as age-1 to regulate the longevity of Caenorhabditis elegans. As expected, the inhibitor treatment resulted in the extension of lifespan by 30% compared to the reference group without the treatment, whereas reproductive characters were not apparently changed. These results were consistent with those observed in C. elegans, suggesting that the lifespan of B. plicatilis is likely to be regulated by the signaling pathway involving PI3-kinase. |
