University College London (UCL) researchers discovered that aging worms secrete a milk-like fluid that is consumed by their offspring and helps for their development. This shows a selfless and sacrificial act as they support the next generation.
The team believes that their findings could have possible implications in the future, particularly in terms of being able to slow down the aging process in humans.
Selfless and Sacrificial Act of Aging Worm Mothers
According to News Medical Life Sciences, the nematode worm C. elegans have both male and female reproductive organs. That eas they could reproduce by themselves but with limited stocks of sperm. But as they age, these also disappear, and also their reproductive days are over.
Scientists observed that aging worms start to behave in a peculiar way that puzzled them. Aging C. elegans would start to generate a milk-like fluid that accumulates in large pools inside their bodies. This destructive behavior consumes their internal organs in the process, and their body weight would lay down in unfertilized eggs.
Scientists first thought that this self-destructive behavior only represents some form of an old-age disease. But then they realize that post-reproductive worms were all making milk. They observed that this self-destructive behavior of mother worms made their bodies like milk bottles to feed their offspring.
In the research, titled "C. elegans Feed Yolk to Their Young in a Form of Primitive Lactation" published in Nature Communications, the team found that baby worms ingested the worm milk. More so, those who had access to a source of yolk milk tend to grow more quickly compared to those without a milk source.
Study first author Dr. Carina Kern said that the worms are destroying themselves to transfer nutrients to their offspring, Sky News reported. But also, the unfertilized eggs in them were full of milk so they also act as a source for the baby worms. She added that this selfless and sacrificial behavior reveals how C. elegans maximize their evolutionary fitness when they can no longer reproduce.
Self-Destructive Suicidal Behavior of Worms Could Give Insights in Human Aging Process
Science Daily reported that the same group of scientists showed that late-life yolk milk production and oocyte laying in mutant worms could be switched off. The worms in this experiment were specifically bred and studied to understand aging. Researchers noted that by regulating the self-destructive process, they could control the lifespan of C. elegans.
They indicated in their study that their findings could have a far-reaching implication on slowing down the human aging process. They suggested that the lifespan of the worms is too limited by this self-destructive behavior.
Lead author Professor David Gems said that the lifespan of C. elegans could be increased up to ten times through gene manipulation. By understanding the mechanism behind it, this perhaps could be applied to slow aging in humans. However, he also noted that this possibility could be remote if the goal is to only suppress the suicidal behavior of the worms.
Researchers emphasized that there is more to learn about the human aging process and C. elegans. In general, the goal is to understand the principles behind aging in the worms and explain the cause of age-related diseases.
Check out more news and information on Aging in Science Times.
