Question

6. View the first seven minutes of the following video: “Part 1: Genes that Control Aging” by Dr. Cynthia Kenyon (iBioSeminars). If you would like to learn more about Dr. Kenyon’s research, please feel free to view the entire video! Note: You may copy and paste the link for the video directly into the address bar of your browser: https://youtu.be/DT4PWu43e9U

Then answer the following question:

1.a. What critical observations did Dr. Kenyon’s initial hypothesis explain?

1.b. What was Dr. Kenyon’s initial hypothesis?

1.c. How did Dr. Kenyon and her colleagues test the hypothesis using C. elegans?

1.d. What were their key observations regarding daf-2?

1.e. What conclusions did the observations support?

Answer 1

Hi Answer:

1.a. What critical observations did Dr. Kenyon’s initial hypothesis explain?

Answer: Dr. Kenyon’s initial hypothesis proposed that the aging in all animals is controlled by the certain genes, and aging can be delayed by causing mutation in those specific genes which cause aging.

1.b. What was Dr. Kenyon’s initial hypothesis?

Answer: She proposed that the aging in an animal is due to the action of a set of genes and it can be delayed by altering or mutating the gene.

1.c. How did Dr. Kenyon and her colleagues test the hypothesis using C. elegans?

Answer: She and her colleagues used C. elegans a soil worm whose lifespan is about 2 weeks. They selected this worm and identify the gene responsible for aging in this tiny organism. The gene def-2 is responsible for aging in C. elegans. They mutate the gene and alter the hormonal receptor site so that hormone such as insulin and IGF-I is unable to enter the cells due to that the aging process in C. elegans is delayed and its lifespan increases from 15 days to 60-70 days.

1.d. What were their key observations regarding daf-2?

Answer: They observe that def-2 gene have a surface receptor foe insulin and IGF-I hormone and in normal cells, these receptors receive these two hormones and get old in two weeks. So they mutate the gene and block this hormonal receptor due to which cells didn’t get these two hormones and their lifespan increases dramatically.

1.e. What conclusions did the observations support?

Answer: The conclusion of the observation is that the aging is due to the action of certain genes and if we mutate or alter these genes we can delay the aging. It is shown that insulin and IGF-I are responsible for the aging in C. elegans and fruit fly and researcher concluded that it might possible that these hormones also play important role in the aging of human and other animals.