A new aging atlas created by researchers from HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus, Baylor College of Medicine, and Creighton University School of Medicine provides a detailed view of how cells and tissues in roundworms age. This open-access resource allows scientists to study gene expression changes over time and develop tissue-specific aging clocks.
A new aging atlas provides scientists with a detailed view of how individual cells and tissues in worms age, and how various lifespan-extending strategies might slow down or halt the aging process. Due to their short lifespans, simple body plans, and genetic similarity to humans, many researchers study aging in roundworms. To look at aging at the level of tissues and cells, a team of researchers from, Baylor College of Medicine, and Creighton University School of Medicine profiled gene expression in each cell of adult roundworms at different times during the aging process. They also profiled long-lived strains of worms.
The atlas also allowed the team to get a view of polyadenylation, a key mechanism for gene regulation and protein diversification, across the entire worm as it aged. They discovered a series of age-related changes in these events in different cell types, suggesting a previously unknown link between this mechanism and aging.