Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 4 January 2002:
Vol. 295. no. 5552, pp. 120 - 123
DOI: 10.1126/science.1064653
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Extension of Life-Span in Caenorhabditis elegans by a Diet Lacking Coenzyme Q

Pamela L. Larsen,* Catherine F. Clarke

The isoprenylated benzoquinone coenzyme Q is a redox-active lipid essential for electron transport in aerobic respiration. Here, we show that withdrawal of coenzyme Q (Q) from the diet of wild-type nematodes extends adult life-span by ~60%. The longevity of clk-1, daf-2, daf-12, and daf-16 mutants is also extended by a Q-less diet. These results establish the importance of Q in life-span determination. The findings suggest that Q and the daf-2 pathway intersect at the mitochondria and imply that a concerted production coupled with enhanced scavenging of reactive oxygen species contributes to the substantial life-span extension.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 607 Charles E. Young Drive East, Box 951569, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: larsen{at}chem.ucla.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Anti-neurodegeneration Drug Clioquinol Inhibits the Aging-associated Protein CLK-1.
Y. Wang, R. Branicky, Z. Stepanyan, M. Carroll, M.-P. Guimond, A. Hihi, S. Hayes, K. McBride, and S. Hekimi (2009)
J. Biol. Chem. 284, 314-323
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Expression and Maintenance of Mitochondrial DNA: New Insights into Human Disease Pathology.
G. S. Shadel (2008)
Am. J. Pathol. 172, 1445-1456
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Influence of Lactic Acid Bacteria on Longevity of Caenorhabditis elegans and Host Defense against Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis.
T. Ikeda, C. Yasui, K. Hoshino, K. Arikawa, and Y. Nishikawa (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 6404-6409
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Delayed development and lifespan extension as features of metabolic lifestyle alteration in C. elegans under dietary restriction.
N. J. Szewczyk, I. A. Udranszky, E. Kozak, J. Sunga, S. K. Kim, L. A. Jacobson, and C. A. Conley (2006)
J. Exp. Biol. 209, 4129-4139
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Nuclear-Mitochondrial Epistasis and Drosophila Aging: Introgression of Drosophila simulans mtDNA Modifies Longevity in D. melanogaster Nuclear Backgrounds.
D. M. Rand, A. Fry, and L. Sheldahl (2006)
Genetics 172, 329-341
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evolutionary conservation of the clk-1-dependent mechanism of longevity: loss of mclk1 increases cellular fitness and lifespan in mice.
X. Liu, N. Jiang, B. Hughes, E. Bigras, E. Shoubridge, and S. Hekimi (2005)
Genes & Dev. 19, 2424-2434
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ubiquinone Synthesis in Mitochondrial and Microsomal Subcellular Fractions of Pneumocystis spp.: Differential Sensitivities to Atovaquone.
M. Basselin, S. M. Hunt, H. Abdala-Valencia, and E. S. Kaneshiro (2005)
Eukaryot. Cell 4, 1483-1492
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Coq3 and Coq4 Define a Polypeptide Complex in Yeast Mitochondria for the Biosynthesis of Coenzyme Q.
B. Marbois, P. Gin, K. F. Faull, W. W. Poon, P. T. Lee, J. Strahan, J. N. Shepherd, and C. F. Clarke (2005)
J. Biol. Chem. 280, 20231-20238
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Gene expression profiling studies of aging in cardiac and skeletal muscles.
S.-K. Park and T. A. Prolla (2005)
Cardiovasc Res 66, 205-212
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Substrate-specific Activation of Sirtuins by Resveratrol.
M. Kaeberlein, T. McDonagh, B. Heltweg, J. Hixon, E. A. Westman, S. D. Caldwell, A. Napper, R. Curtis, P. S. DiStefano, S. Fields, et al. (2005)
J. Biol. Chem. 280, 17038-17045
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Genetic Evidence for a Multi-subunit Complex in Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis in Yeast and the Role of the Coq1 Hexaprenyl Diphosphate Synthase.
P. Gin and C. F. Clarke (2005)
J. Biol. Chem. 280, 2676-2681
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation Is Defective in the Long-lived Mutant clk-1.
E.-B. Kayser, M. M. Sedensky, P. G. Morgan, and C. L. Hoppel (2004)
J. Biol. Chem. 279, 54479-54486
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Identification and Subcellular Localization of Two Solanesyl Diphosphate Synthases from Arabidopsis thaliana.
L. Jun, R. Saiki, K. Tatsumi, T. Nakagawa, and M. Kawamukai (2004)
Plant Cell Physiol. 45, 1882-1888
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Drosophila lifespan enhancement by exogenous bacteria.
T. Brummel, A. Ching, L. Seroude, A. F. Simon, and S. Benzer (2004)
PNAS 101, 12974-12979
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Demethoxy-Q, An Intermediate of Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis, Fails to Support Respiration in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lacks Antioxidant Activity.
S. Padilla, T. Jonassen, M. A. Jimenez-Hidalgo, D. J. M. Fernandez-Ayala, G. Lopez-Lluch, B. Marbois, P. Navas, C. F. Clarke, and C. Santos-Ocana (2004)
J. Biol. Chem. 279, 25995-26004
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Mutations in Chemosensory Cilia Cause Resistance to Paraquat in Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
M. Fujii, Y. Matsumoto, N. Tanaka, K. Miki, T. Suzuki, N. Ishii, and D. Ayusawa (2004)
J. Biol. Chem. 279, 20277-20282
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Yeast Coq5 C-Methyltransferase Is Required for Stability of Other Polypeptides Involved in Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis.
S. W. Baba, G. I. Belogrudov, J. C. Lee, P. T. Lee, J. Strahan, J. N. Shepherd, and C. F. Clarke (2004)
J. Biol. Chem. 279, 10052-10059
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Reproductive Fitness and Quinone Content of Caenorhabditis elegans clk-1 Mutants Fed Coenzyme Q Isoforms of Varying Length.
T. Jonassen, D. E. Davis, P. L. Larsen, and C. F. Clarke (2003)
J. Biol. Chem. 278, 51735-51742
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A Reduction in Intestinal Cell pHi Due to Loss of the Caenorhabditis elegans Na+/H+ Exchanger NHX-2 Increases Life Span.
K. Nehrke (2003)
J. Biol. Chem. 278, 44657-44666
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae COQ6 Gene Encodes a Mitochondrial Flavin-dependent Monooxygenase Required for Coenzyme Q Biosynthesis.
P. Gin, A. Y. Hsu, S. C. Rothman, T. Jonassen, P. T. Lee, A. Tzagoloff, and C. F. Clarke (2003)
J. Biol. Chem. 278, 25308-25316
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Redox signaling in the growth and development of colonial hydroids.
N. W. Blackstone (2003)
J. Exp. Biol. 206, 651-658
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Structural and Functional Characteristics of Two Sodium-coupled Dicarboxylate Transporters (ceNaDC1 and ceNaDC2) from Caenorhabditis elegans and Their Relevance to Life Span.
Y.-J. Fei, K. Inoue, and V. Ganapathy (2003)
J. Biol. Chem. 278, 6136-6144
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Extended Longevity in Mice Lacking the Insulin Receptor in Adipose Tissue.
M. Bluher, B. B. Kahn, and C. R. Kahn (2003)
Science 299, 572-574
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Development and Fertility in Caenorhabditis elegans clk-1 Mutants Depend upon Transport of Dietary Coenzyme Q8 to Mitochondria.
T. Jonassen, B. N. Marbois, K. F. Faull, C. F. Clarke, and P. L. Larsen (2002)
J. Biol. Chem. 277, 45020-45027
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)