A potential role for fatty acid biosynthesis genes during molting and cuticle formation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans undergoes a developmental molting process that involves a coordinated interplay among diverse intracellular pathways. Here, we investigated the functions of two fatty acid biosynthesis genes; pod-2, encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and fasn-1, encoding fatty acid synthase, in the C. elegans molting process. Although both the pod-2 and fasn-1 genes were expressed at constant levels throughout C. elegans development, knockdown of the proteins encoded by these genes using RNA interference produced severe defects in triglyceride production, molting, and reproduction that were coupled to suppression of NAS-37, a metalloprotease. An assessment of the structure and integrity of the cuticle using a COL-19::GFP marker and Hoechst 33258 staining showed that downregulation of either pod-2 or fasn-1 impaired cuticle formation and disrupted the integrity of the cuticle and the hypodermal membrane. [BMB reports 2011; 44(4): 285-290]

Ultraviolet-A triggers photoaging in model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in a DAF-16 dependent pathway

“…3 Differential expression of clk-1 and eat-2 upon UV-A exposure in C. elegans. The expression of clk-1 was downregulated during the course of exposure whereas eat-2 was downregulated consistently 2010), and it acts like an adult specific marker (Thein et al 2003;Li and Paik 2011). Further, it deciphers the accumulation of collagen inside the organism.…”

Mutation of the lbp-5 gene alters metabolic output in Caenorhabditis elegans

“…Nematodes were frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80℃ until further processing. Worm extracts were prepared as described (17,21).…”

Spirotetramat resistance adaption analysis of Aphis gossypii Glover by transcriptomic survey

“…One explanation for the observed defect in eggshell formation in ACCdeficient mosquitoes is that de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in ovary tissues is required to generate the lipid components of the eggshell [25]. In addition, down-regulation of ACC impaired cuticle formation and disrupted the integrity of the cuticle and the hypodermal membrane in Caenorhabditis elegans [26]. Similarly, ACC in oenocytes, which is proposed to produce cuticular lipids, is required for proper development past the L2/L3 larval stage transition in Drosophila melanogaster [27].…”