Gene regulatory network inference in long-lived
C. elegans reveals modular properties that are predictive of novel aging genes.
iScience 2022;
25:103663. [PMID:
35036864 PMCID:
PMC8753122 DOI:
10.1016/j.isci.2021.103663]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We design a “wisdom-of-the-crowds” GRN inference pipeline and couple it to complex network analysis to understand the organizational principles governing gene regulation in long-lived glp-1/Notch Caenorhabditis elegans. The GRN has three layers (input, core, and output) and is topologically equivalent to bow-tie/hourglass structures prevalent among metabolic networks. To assess the functional importance of structural layers, we screened 80% of regulators and discovered 50 new aging genes, 86% with human orthologues. Genes essential for longevity—including ones involved in insulin-like signaling (ILS)—are at the core, indicating that GRN's structure is predictive of functionality. We used in vivo reporters and a novel functional network covering 5,497 genetic interactions to make mechanistic predictions. We used genetic epistasis to test some of these predictions, uncovering a novel transcriptional regulator, sup-37, that works alongside DAF-16/FOXO. We present a framework with predictive power that can accelerate discovery in C. elegans and potentially humans.
Gene-regulatory inference provides global network of long-lived animals
The large-scale topology of the network has an hourglass structure
Membership to the core of the hourglass is a good predictor of functionality
Discovered 50 novel aging genes, including sup-37, a DAF-16 dependent gene
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