Brachionus rotifers as a model for investigating dietary and metabolic regulators of aging

Because every species has unique attributes relevant to understanding specific aspects of aging, using a diversity of study systems and a comparative biology approach for aging research has the potential to lead to novel discoveries applicable to human health. Monogonont rotifers, a standard model f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrition and healthy aging 2021-01, Vol.6 (1), p.1-15
Main Author: Gribble, Kristin E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aquatic ecology
Aquatic organisms
Asexual reproduction
Biological evolution
Biology
Brachionus
Cell culture
Culture
Developmental stages
Diet
Dietary restrictions
Drug development
Ecotoxicology
Evolutionary biology
Homology
Invertebrates
Laboratory culture
Life span
Liquid culture
Metabolic pathways
Metabolism
Morphology
Pharmaceuticals
Regulators
Reproduction (biology)
Review
Rotifera
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Summary:Because every species has unique attributes relevant to understanding specific aspects of aging, using a diversity of study systems and a comparative biology approach for aging research has the potential to lead to novel discoveries applicable to human health. Monogonont rotifers, a standard model for studies of aquatic ecology, evolutionary biology, and ecotoxicology, have also been used to study lifespan and healthspan for nearly a century. However, because much of this work has been published in the ecology and evolutionary biology literature, it may not be known to the biomedical research community. In this review, we provide an overview of rotifers as a model to investigate nutritional and metabolic regulators of aging, with a focus on recent studies of dietary and metabolic pathway manipulation. Rotifers are microscopic, aquatic invertebrates with many advantages as a system for studying aging, including a two-week lifespan, easy laboratory culture, direct development without a larval stage, sexual and asexual reproduction, easy delivery of pharmaceuticals in liquid culture, and transparency allowing imaging of cellular morphology and processes. Rotifers have greater gene homology with humans than do established invertebrate models for aging, and thus rotifers may be used to investigate novel genetic mechanisms relevant to human lifespan and healthspan. The research on caloric restriction; dietary, pharmaceutical, and genetic interventions; and transcriptomics of aging using rotifers provide insights into the metabolic regulators of lifespan and health and suggest future directions for aging research. Capitalizing on the unique biology of rotifers, referencing the vast existing literature about the influence of diet and drugs on rotifer lifespan and health, continuing the development of genetic tools for rotifers, and growing the rotifer research community will lead to new discoveries a better understanding of the biology of aging.
ISSN:2451-9480
2451-9502
DOI:10.3233/NHA-200104