Song Jiangbo, Tang Dongmei, Li Zhiquan, Tong Xiaoling, Zhang Jianfei, Han Minjin, Hu Hai, Lu Cheng, Dai Fangyin
State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Key Laboratory for Sericulture Functional Genomics and Biotechnology of Agricultural Ministry, College of Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
Oncotarget. 2017 Jan 31;8(5):7294-7300. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.14235.
Established animal models have accelerated our understanding of the mechanisms involved in lifespan determination. However, more experimental animals are required to clarify the complex mechanisms behind the phenomena of aging and lifespan. In this study, we reported the variation of lifespan in nine distinct silkworm strains. Lifespan correlated significantly with BmFoxO gene expression in the representative silkworm strains tested (Xiafang, Dazao-N, and N4). In general, the female silkworm was longer lived than the male of the same strain. Dietary restriction extended the silkworm lifespan compared with that of silkworms fed ad libitum. The expression of BmFoxO was significantly elevated in the dietary restriction group on day 3 of the 4th instar and day 3 of the 5th instar, suggesting that BmFoxO contributes to dietary restriction-mediated lifespan extension. The RNA interference and overexpression of the BmFoxO gene significantly shortened and extended the silkworm adulthood, respectively. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the silkworm might serve as a promising experimental animal to explore the complex biological mechanisms of lifespan determination.
已建立的动物模型加速了我们对寿命决定所涉及机制的理解。然而，需要更多的实验动物来阐明衰老和寿命现象背后的复杂机制。在本研究中，我们报告了九个不同家蚕品系寿命的变化。在所测试的代表性家蚕品系（夏芳、大造 - N和N4）中，寿命与BmFoxO基因表达显著相关。一般来说，同一品系的雌蚕比雄蚕寿命更长。与自由采食的家蚕相比，饮食限制延长了家蚕的寿命。在四龄第3天和五龄第3天，饮食限制组中BmFoxO的表达显著升高，这表明BmFoxO有助于饮食限制介导的寿命延长。BmFoxO基因的RNA干扰和过表达分别显著缩短和延长了家蚕的成虫期。总之，我们的研究结果表明，家蚕可能是探索寿命决定复杂生物学机制的有前途的实验动物。
