[
Autophagy,
2007]
Autophagy is a catabolic process in which long-lived proteins and organelles are degraded for recycling in the cytoplasm. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans autophagy is associated with formation of the dauer larva, an alternative developmental stage that worms can enter under poor growth conditions. We have shown that C. elegans mutants that experience caloric restriction because they are feeding-defective also exhibit elevated autophagy and decreased levels of fat deposits, as well as smaller cells and, consequently, a smaller body size. Our results suggest novel relationships between caloric restriction, longevity, body size and autophagy.
[
Genome Res,
2001]
The scientific method, and genetic analysis in particular, is based upon identifying variations between individuals of the same species. The study of Jones et al. in this issue reveals variation in transcript abundance between two developmental stages of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegns. In this case, the variation is not genetically specified ut is induced bt the environment as part of a shift to an alternate developmental form, the daur larva. In this type of whole-genome analyses, it is assumed that such studies would reveal differences in transcript abundance that would be casusall associated with distinct molecular and morphological transformations driving development. Much of this paper is conjecture about how the observed differences in transcriipt abundance specify observed differences in longevity(or, more precisely, in mortality rate).