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Surviving Starvation: AMPK Protects Germ Cell Integrity by Targeting Multiple Epigenetic Effectors
Author(s) -
Demoinet Emilie,
Roy Richard
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.201700095
Subject(s) - ampk , epigenetics , biology , caenorhabditis elegans , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatin , phenotype , protein kinase a , regulator , germ cell , starvation , genetics , gene , kinase , endocrinology
Acute starvation can have long‐term consequences that are mediated through epigenetic change. Some of these changes are affected by the activity of AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK), a master regulator of cellular energy homeostasis. In Caenorhabditis elegans , the absence of AMPK during a period of starvation in an early larval stage results in developmental defects following their recovery on food, while many of them become sterile. Moreover, the loss of AMPK during this quiescent period results in transgenerational phenotypes that can become progressively worse with each successive generation. Our recent data describe a chromatin‐based mechanism of how AMPK mediates adjustment to acute starvation in the germ cells, however, the heritable aspect of this AMPK mutant phenotype remains unresolved. Here, we explore how AMPK might affect this process and speculate how the initial transcription that occurs in the germ cells may adversely affect subsequent germline gene expression and/or genomic integrity.