Effects of dietary restriction on mitochondrial morphology in wild type and lipl-5 mutants c. elegans

• Grant number: 16/11673-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2016
• End date: November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Metabolism and Bioenergetics
• Principal Investigator: Fernanda Marques da Cunha
• Grantee: Gabriel Loureiro Martins
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07937-8 - Redoxome - Redox Processes in Biomedicine, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that undergo fusion or fission depending on the cell metabolic need. It is well known that mitochondrial morphology is intimately linked to mitochondrial activity and thus is critical for homeostasis maintenance during metabolic fluctuations. Dietary restriction is a nutritional intervention that increases the longevity of a number of organisms, and part of its effects depends on the modulation of mitochondrial activity. The culture of C. elegans in bacteria-deprived medium is the most extreme protocol of dietary restriction and is capable of increasing the lifespan of adult worms. The aim of the present project is to characterize dietary restriction-induced effects on mitochondrial morphology in C. elegans, especially in lipl-5 mutants that live 100% longer than wild type worms when subjected to bacteria deprivation, in spite of not mobilizing the totality of their lipid stores, as is observed for wild type animals. The characterization of mitochondrial morphology modulation in response to extreme dietary restriction in wild type and lipl-5 mutants will provide important evidences about: i- the observed differences in dietary restriction-induced lipid consumption between wild type and lipl-5 mutants and ii- the increased longevity of lipl-5 mutants.