Trending With Impact: Tobacco Gene Increases Lifespan in Fruit Flies

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Aging (Aging-US)

Aging (Aging-US) published this trending research paper in Volume 14, Issue 7, entitled, “The tobacco phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein NtFT4 increases the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster by interacting with the proteostasis network” by researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Münster, Germany; Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany; Institute of Neuro- and Behavioral Biology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany; TRM Ltd, Scarborough, United Kingdom. DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204005 Corresponding author - Philip Känel - philip.kaenel@ime.fraunhofer.de Abstract Proteostasis reflects the well-balanced synthesis, trafficking and degradation of cellular proteins. This is a fundamental aspect of the dynamic cellular proteome, which integrates multiple signaling pathways, but it becomes increasingly error-prone during aging. Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins (PEBPs) are highly conserved regulators of signaling networks and could therefore affect aging-related processes. To test this hypothesis, we expressed PEPBs in a heterologous context to determine their ectopic activity. We found that heterologous expression of the tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) PEBP NtFT4 in Drosophila melanogaster significantly increased the lifespan of adult flies and reduced age-related locomotor decline. Similarly, overexpression of the Drosophila ortholog CG7054 increased longevity, whereas its suppression by RNA interference had the opposite effect. In tobacco, NtFT4 acts as a floral regulator by integrating environmental and intrinsic stimuli to promote the transition to reproductive growth. In Drosophila, NtFT4 engaged distinct targets related to proteostasis, such as HSP26. In older flies, it also prolonged Hsp26 gene expression, which promotes longevity by maintaining protein integrity. In NtFT4-transgenic flies, we identified deregulated genes encoding proteases that may contribute to proteome stability at equilibrium. Our results demonstrate that the expression of NtFT4 influences multiple aspects of the proteome maintenance system via both physical interactions and transcriptional regulation, potentially explaining the aging-related phenotypes we observed. Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://aging.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Faging.204005 Keywords - aging, proteostasis, heat shock proteins, chaperone, locomotor activity About Aging-US Launched in 2009, Aging-US publishes papers of general interest and biological significance in all fields of aging research and age-related diseases, including cancer—and now, with a special focus on COVID-19 vulnerability as an age-dependent syndrome. Topics in Aging-US go beyond traditional gerontology, including, but not limited to, cellular and molecular biology, human age-related diseases, pathology in model organisms, signal transduction pathways (e.g., p53, sirtuins, and PI-3K/AKT/mTOR, among others), and approaches to modulating these signaling pathways. Please visit our website at http://www.Aging-US.com​​ and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/Aging-Us Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AgingUS/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/AgingJrnl Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/agingjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/agingus​ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/aging/ Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/AgingUS/ Aging-US is published by Impact Journals, LLC: http://www.ImpactJournals.com​​ Media Contact 18009220957 MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM