CELL NONAUTONOMY OF C-ELEGANS DAF-2 FUNCTION IN THE REGULATION OF DIAPAUSE AND LIFE-SPAN

The insulin/IGF receptor homolog DAF-2 regulates the aging in C. elega ns. Decreasing daf-2 activity causes fertile adults to remain active m uch longer than normal and to live more than twice as long. A more sev ere decrease in daf-2 function causes young larvae to enter a state of diapause rather than progressing to adulthood. We have asked which ce lls require daf-2 gene activity in order for the animal to develop to adulthood and to age normally. We found that daf-a functions cell nona utonomously in both processes. Our findings imply that the life span o f C. elegans is determined by a signaling cascade in which the DAF-2 r eceptor acts in multiple cell lineages to regulate the production or a ctivity of a secondary signal (or signals), which, in turn, controls t he growth and longevity of individual tissues in the animal.