Investigating the effect of rapamycin and 2,5 dideoxy adenosine on the lifespan of Brachionus plicatilis
Education Level
Undergraduate
Faculty Advisor(s)
Professor Christopher Burtner
Academic Department(s)
Biology
Symposium Date
2024
Abstract
Understanding the basic biology of aging and underlying molecular events that result in deterioration of physiology may lead to treatments for chronic age-related health conditions in people. Rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) are microscopic aquatic organisms recently developed by our lab as a model organism for studying metabolic and biochemical pathways implicated in the aging process. Rotifers have previously been used in ecotoxicology as sentinels for monitoring water quality given their heightened sensitivity to waterborne contaminants. Based upon this application, we hypothesize that rotifers are excellent models in screens to identify drugs capable of extending health and longevity. Other advantages of this model organism include a short laboratory life span of 2-3 weeks and parthenogenic reproduction resulting in genetically identical generations. Through the utilization of high-throughput robotic drug discovery and hypothesis driven experimentation, we test the effect of pharmaceuticals such as rapamycin and 2,5 dideoxy adenosine on the lifespan of rotifers to target adenylyl cyclase activity as well as the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase pathway with previous literature suggesting an expansion of lifespan. We provide evidence that rotifers are effective model organisms for pharmacologic screens in discovery of new drugs capable of affecting lifespan or other phenotypes of interest.
Recommended Citation
Bettencourt, Soraya and Burtner, Christopher R., "Investigating the effect of rapamycin and 2,5 dideoxy adenosine on the lifespan of Brachionus plicatilis" (2024). Student Research Symposium. 25.
https://docs.rwu.edu/studentresearchsymposium/25
Comments
This research was presented at the 2024 Rhode Island Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium, held on Friday, July 26, at the University of Rhode Island and supported by RI-INBRE.