Further Extension of Lifespan by and Mutations in Germline-Deficient .

Reduction of insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) signaling (IIS) promotes longevity across species. In the nematode , ablation of germline stem cells (GSCs) and activity changes of the conserved signaling mediators (calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase type II) and (phospholipase Cβ) also increase lifespan. Like IIS, these pathways depend on the conserved transcription factor for lifespan extension, but how they functionally interact is unknown.

Regulation of fatty acid desaturase- and immunity gene-expression by mbk-1/DYRK1A in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, longevity in response to germline ablation, but not in response to reduced insulin/IGF1-like signaling, is strongly dependent on the conserved protein kinase minibrain-related kinase 1 (MBK-1). In humans, the MBK-1 ortholog DYRK1A is associated with a variety of disorders, most prominently with neurological defects observed in Down syndrome. To better understand mbk-1's physiological roles and their dependence on genetic background, we analyzed the influence of mbk-1 loss on the transcriptomes of wildtype and long-lived, germline-deficient or insulin-receptor defective, C.

Expression of β-1,4-galactosyltransferases during Aging in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: Altered plasma activity of β-1,4-galac-tosyl-transferases (B4GALTs) is a novel candidate biomarker of human aging. B4GALT1 is assumed to be largely responsible for this activity increase, but how it modulates the aging process is unclear at present.

Objectives: To determine how expression of B4GALT1 and other B4GALT enzymes changes during aging of an experimentally tractable model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans.

Cell-Free Prototyping of AND-Logic Gates Based on Heterogeneous RNA Activators.

RNA-based devices controlling gene expression bear great promise for synthetic biology, as they offer many advantages such as short response times and light metabolic burden compared to protein-circuits. However, little work has been done regarding their integration to multilevel regulated circuits. In this work, we combined a variety of small transcriptional activator RNAs (STARs) and toehold switches to build highly effective AND-gates.