Tissue-specific chromatin-binding patterns of Caenorhabditis elegans heterochromatin proteins HPL-1 and HPL-2 reveal differential roles in the regulation of gene expression.

Heterochromatin is characterized by an enrichment of repetitive elements and low gene density and is often maintained in a repressed state across cell division and differentiation. The silencing is mainly regulated by repressive histone marks such as H3K9 and H3K27 methylated forms and the heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) family. Here, we analyzed in a tissue-specific manner the binding profile of the two HP1 homologs in Caenorhabditis elegans, HPL-1 and HPL-2, at the L4 developmental stage.

The Mitochondrial PHB Complex Determines Lipid Composition and Interacts With the Endoplasmic Reticulum to Regulate Ageing.

Metabolic disorders are frequently associated with physiological changes that occur during ageing. The mitochondrial prohibitin complex (PHB) is an evolutionary conserved context-dependent modulator of longevity, which has been linked to alterations in lipid metabolism but which biochemical function remains elusive. In this work we aimed at elucidating the molecular mechanism by which depletion of mitochondrial PHB shortens the lifespan of wild type animals while it extends that of insulin signaling receptor () mutants.

Prohibitin depletion extends lifespan of a TORC2/SGK-1 mutant through autophagy and the mitochondrial UPR.

Mitochondrial prohibitins (PHB) are highly conserved proteins with a peculiar effect on lifespan. While PHB depletion shortens lifespan of wild-type animals, it enhances longevity of a plethora of metabolically compromised mutants, including target of rapamycin complex 2 (TORC2) mutants sgk-1 and rict-1. Here, we show that sgk-1 mutants have impaired mitochondrial homeostasis, lipogenesis and yolk formation, plausibly due to alterations in membrane lipid and sterol homeostasis.

Combined flow cytometry and high-throughput image analysis for the study of essential genes in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: Advances in automated image-based microscopy platforms coupled with high-throughput liquid workflows have facilitated the design of large-scale screens utilising multicellular model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans to identify genetic interactions, therapeutic drugs or disease modifiers. However, the analysis of essential genes has lagged behind because lethal or sterile mutations pose a bottleneck for high-throughput approaches, and a systematic way to analyse genetic interactions of essential genes in multicellular organisms has been lacking.

Results: In C.

An automated method for the analysis of food intake behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans.

The study of mechanisms that govern feeding behaviour and its related disorders is a matter of global health interest. The roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans is becoming a model organism of choice to study these conserved pathways. C.

Prohibitin-mediated lifespan and mitochondrial stress implicate SGK-1, insulin/IGF and mTORC2 in C. elegans.

Lifespan regulation by mitochondrial proteins has been well described, however, the mechanism of this regulation is not fully understood. Amongst the mitochondrial proteins profoundly affecting ageing are prohibitins (PHB-1 and PHB-2). Paradoxically, in C.

Age-dependent changes of nuclear morphology are uncoupled from longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans IGF/insulin receptor daf-2 mutants.

Nuclear envelope (NE) architecture and aging have been associated since the discovery that certain human progeria diseases are due to perturbations in processing of lamin A protein, generating alterations in NE morphology. However, whether changes in the NE are a causal effect of normal and premature aging is still controversial. Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism where observations supporting both, dependent and independent roles of nuclear architecture in the aging process, have been reported.

Protective role of DNJ-27/ERdj5 in Caenorhabditis elegans models of human neurodegenerative diseases.

Aims: Cells have developed quality control systems for protection against proteotoxicity. Misfolded and aggregation-prone proteins, which are behind the initiation and progression of many neurodegenerative diseases (ND), are known to challenge the proteostasis network of the cells. We aimed to explore the role of DNJ-27/ERdj5, an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident thioredoxin protein required as a disulfide reductase for the degradation of misfolded proteins, in well-established Caenorhabditis elegans models of Alzheimer, Parkinson and Huntington diseases.

Selection of an autochthonous Saccharomyces strain starter for alcoholic fermentation of Sherry base wines.

Several indigenous Saccharomyces strains from musts were isolated in the Jerez de la Frontera region, at the end of spontaneous fermentation, in order to select the most suitable autochthonous yeast starter, during the 2007 vintage. Five strains were chosen for their oenological abilities and fermentative kinetics to elaborate a Sherry base wine. The selected autochthonous strains were characterized by molecular methods: electrophoretic karyotype and random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) and by physiological parameters: fermentative power, ethanol production, sugar consumption, acidity and volatile compound production, sensory quality, killer phenotype, desiccation, and sulphur dioxide tolerance.