Dietary restriction improves fitness of ageing parents but reduces fitness of their offspring in nematodes

Mautz, Brian S, Lind, Martin I and Maklakov, Alexei A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5809-1203 (2020) Dietary restriction improves fitness of ageing parents but reduces fitness of their offspring in nematodes. The Journals of Gerontology, Series A, 75 (5). 843–848. ISSN 1079-5006

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Abstract

Dietary restriction (DR) is a well-established intervention to extend lifespan across taxa. Recent studies suggest that DR-driven lifespan extension can be cost-free, calling into question a central tenant of the evolutionary theory of aging. Nevertheless, boosting parental longevity can reduce offspring fitness. Such intergenerational trade-offs are often ignored but can account for the "missing costs" of longevity. Here, we use the nematode Caenorhabditis remanei to test for effects of DR by fasting on fitness of females and their offspring. Females deprived of food for 6 days indeed had increased fecundity, survival, and stress resistance after re-exposure to food compared with their counterparts with constant food access. However, offspring of DR mothers had reduced early and lifetime fecundity, slower growth rate, and smaller body size at sexual maturity. These findings support the direct trade-off between investment in soma and gametes challenging the hypothesis that increased somatic maintenance and impaired reproduction can be decoupled.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America.
Uncontrolled Keywords: dietary restriction,lifespan extension,reproduction,temporary fasting,trade-offs,transgenerational effects,ageing,geriatrics and gerontology ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300/1302
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging
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Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 21 Jan 2020 03:16
Last Modified: 13 May 2023 06:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/73701
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glz276

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