Open AccessLongevity-determining genes in Caenorhabditis elegans: chromosomal mapping of multiple noninteractive loci.
Author(s) -
Robert H. Ebert,
Vera A. Cherkasova,
Richard A. Dennis,
Jiajia Wu,
Scott Ruggles,
Thomas Perrin,
Robert J. Shmookler Reis
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.792
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1943-2631
pISSN - 0016-6731
DOI - 10.1093/genetics/135.4.1003
Subject(s) - biology , genetics , caenorhabditis elegans , allele , gene , longevity , genotype , chromosome , genome , population , demography , sociology
We have used chromosome mapping with polymorphic markers to define genetic components governing life span in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. A complex recombinant-inbred population was derived from an interstrain cross, yielding > 1000 genotypes, each a composite of homozygous segments from the two parental strains. Genotypes were analyzed for the last-surviving 1-5% of worms in aging cohorts, and for young controls, by multiplex polymerase chain reaction using polymorphic markers to distinguish the parental alleles. We identified five regions of the genome at which one parental allele was significantly enriched in long-lived subpopulations. At four of five loci, the same alleles were selected in aging cohorts maintained under two different conditions, implying that these genes determine life span in differing environments.