Main Content

The World of Protozoa, Rotifera, Nematoda and Oligochaeta

Ref ID : 312

Klass, M.R.; Aging in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: major biological and environmental factors influencing life span. Mech.Ageing Dev. 6:413-429, 1977

Reprint

Not in File

Notes

The free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an excellent experimental system for the study of aging. The present study identifies some of the major biological and environmental factors influencing life span as a prelude to more detailed genetic and biochemical analyses. Life span can be altered during any part of the life cycle by a change in either temperature or food concentration. Parental age and parental life span both have relatively small effects on progeny life span. The nematode accumulates fluorescent pigment resembling lipofuscin, and becomes less sensitive to ultra-violet radiation as it ages.