The protein L-isoaspartyl-O-methyltransferase functions in the Caenorhabditis elegans stress response.

The efficient use of nutrients is important in development and aging. In this study, we asked if the protein repair methyltransferase has a related or additional role in energy metabolism and stress response in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Worms lacking the pcm-1 gene encoding this enzyme exhibit reduced longevity as SDS-isolated dauer larvae and as arrested L1 larvae under starvation stress, while overexpression leads to increased adult longevity. These findings led us to question whether pcm-1 deficient C. elegans may have inappropriate metabolic responses to stress. We assayed dauer and dauer-like larvae for starvation survival and observed a two-fold reduction of median survival time for pcm-1 mutants compared to N2 wild-type worms. Under these conditions, pcm-1 deficient dauer larvae had reduced fat stores, suggesting that PCM-1 may have a role in the initiation of the correct metabolic responses to stress starvation. We show expression of the pcm-1 gene in neurons, body wall and reproductive tissues. Upon heat shock and dauer formation-inducing conditions, we observe additional pcm-1 expression in body wall muscle nuclei and actomyosin filaments and in hypodermal cells. These results suggest that this enzyme may be important in stress response pathways, including proper decision making for energy storage.