One of Dr. R. J. Shmookler Reis’s research areas is the search of genes regulating life span of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Shmookler Reis’s laboratory has created mutant nematodes that have age-1 gene with truncated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit (PI3KCS). Such PI3KCS mutants have had remarkable longevity. They also have had prolonged period of development and normal mobility. On the other hand, C. elegans PI3KCS mutants have sacrificed their body size and metabolic rate. Such worms have also had exceptional resistance to oxidative and electrophilic stress as compared to worms with normal alleles or alleles associated with lesser life spans. Mutant worms have lived 145–190 days at 20 degrees centigrade showing ten times extension of average and maximum life span.
Place of employment — Departments of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, USA.
Contacts -Departments of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Slot # 748, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; Department Fax: 501-686-5884.
Publications — Caenorhabditis elegans PI3K mutants reveal novel genes underlying exceptional stress resistance and lifespan. Ayyadevara S, Tazearslan C, Bharill P, Alla R, Siegel E, Shmookler Reis RJ. Aging Cell. 2009 Dec;8(6):706-25Remarkable longevity and stress resistance of nematode PI3K-null mutants. Ayyadevara S, Alla R, Thaden JJ, Shmookler Reis RJ. Aging Cell. 2008 Jan;7(1):13–22.
