Date of Award
Spring 5-3-2024
Level of Access Assigned by Author
Open-Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Advisor
Aric Rogers
Second Committee Member
Robert Wheeler
Third Committee Member
Suzanne Angeli
Additional Committee Members
Dustin Updike
Lucy Liaw
Hannah Lust
Abstract
In the study of aging, there is a common paradigm that organisms allocate energy between surviving stressful conditions and growth/reproduction (Masoro, 2000). Driving mechanisms that favor the former extend lifespan and protect against cellular stress in different animal systems, including C. elegans. Dietary restriction is one such environmental stressor, which leads to downregulation of the energy-intensive process of mRNA translation (Karol, 2009; Tavernarakis, 2008). When knocked down in adulthood, IFG-1, a component of translation regulation, also protects against cellular stress. Protective effects of low translation appear to be orchestrated by certain tissues in C. elegans, namely neurons and the germline (Howard et al., 2021). Preliminary studies show that low IFG-1 in body muscle is not protective against protein unfolding stress in this tissue. Conversely, low translation in neurons or germline tissue upregulates structural and functional muscle genes and protects against muscle-specific proteotoxicity. To begin to determine if the upregulation of muscle genes is required for the protective effects of low translation, we screened for genes that inhibited the induction of muscle genes under low ifg-1. Recently, we have identified cbp-1, an RNA polymerase II transcription factor and histone acetyltransferase, as a component in the pathway between low neuronal translation (via ifg-1 RNA interference) and the upregulation of muscle genes. Here, we investigate the requirements for enhanced proteostasis conferred by low IFG-1, including the role of low CBP-1 and neuronal signaling.
Recommended Citation
Ruzga, Marissa N., "Characterizing the Neuronal Signaling Required for Muscle-Specific and Whole Body Enhanced Proteostasis Effects of Low mRNA Translation" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3976.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/3976