Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Eric L. Greer, Travis J. Maures, Duygu Ucar, Anna G. Hauswirth, Elena Mancini, Jana P. Lim, Bérénice A. Benayoun, Yang Shi and Anne Brunet ()
Additional contact information
Eric L. Greer: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Travis J. Maures: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Duygu Ucar: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Anna G. Hauswirth: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Elena Mancini: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Jana P. Lim: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Bérénice A. Benayoun: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive
Yang Shi: Children’s Hospital
Anne Brunet: Stanford University, 300 Pasteur Drive

Nature, 2011, vol. 479, issue 7373, 365-371

Abstract: Abstract Chromatin modifiers regulate lifespan in several organisms, raising the question of whether changes in chromatin states in the parental generation could be incompletely reprogrammed in the next generation and thereby affect the lifespan of descendants. The histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) complex, composed of ASH-2, WDR-5 and the histone methyltransferase SET-2, regulates Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan. Here we show that deficiencies in the H3K4me3 chromatin modifiers ASH-2, WDR-5 or SET-2 in the parental generation extend the lifespan of descendants up until the third generation. The transgenerational inheritance of lifespan extension by members of the ASH-2 complex is dependent on the H3K4me3 demethylase RBR-2, and requires the presence of a functioning germline in the descendants. Transgenerational inheritance of lifespan is specific for the H3K4me3 methylation complex and is associated with epigenetic changes in gene expression. Thus, manipulation of specific chromatin modifiers only in parents can induce an epigenetic memory of longevity in descendants.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10572

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