Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Lethal Alleles

Lethal Alleles

Agouti: A Lethal Allele
Lucien Cuénot discovered lethal alleles in 1905 while studying the inheritance of coat color in mice. The agouti gene is responsible for the color of the coat in mice. This gene codes for an agouti-signaling protein, which is responsible for melanin distribution in mammals. The wild-type allele gives rise to gray-brown coat color in mice, while the mutant allele gives rise to yellow coat color. In addition to coat color, the agouti gene is associated with the yellow...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Strong inhibition of insulin/IGF-1 signaling in early-mid adulthood compresses morbidity, but in later life accelerates aging.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Slowed Gompertzian ageing in long-lived C. elegans results from expansion of decrepitude, not decelerated ageing.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

A hierarchy of causes of death in senescent C. elegans.

npj aging·2026

Same author

The Strehler-Mildvan mortality correlation arises from changes in the variability of ageing.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Aging as a multifactorial disorder with two stages.

Aging·2025

Same author

Machine learning predicts lifespan and suggests underlying causes of death in aging C. elegans.

Communications biology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 4, 2026

Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans

Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: May 18, 2022

A fln-2 mutation affects lethal pathology and lifespan in C. elegans.

Yuan Zhao¹, Hongyuan Wang^1,2, Richard J Poole³

¹Institute of Healthy Ageing, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.

Nature Communications

|November 10, 2019

Summary

Genetic background variation in C. elegans impacts lifespan studies. A filamin gene (fln-2) mutation in one wild-type strain explains lifespan differences and confounding effects on aging genes.

More Related Videos

The Replica Set Method: A High-throughput Approach to Quantitatively Measure Caenorhabditis elegans Lifespan

The Replica Set Method: A High-throughput Approach to Quantitatively Measure Caenorhabditis elegans Lifespan

Published on: June 29, 2018

Lipid Supplementation for Longevity and Gene Transcriptional Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Lipid Supplementation for Longevity and Gene Transcriptional Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: December 9, 2022

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 4, 2026

Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans

Surveying Low-Cost Methods to Measure Lifespan and Healthspan in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: May 18, 2022

The Replica Set Method: A High-throughput Approach to Quantitatively Measure Caenorhabditis elegans Lifespan

The Replica Set Method: A High-throughput Approach to Quantitatively Measure Caenorhabditis elegans Lifespan

Published on: June 29, 2018

Lipid Supplementation for Longevity and Gene Transcriptional Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Lipid Supplementation for Longevity and Gene Transcriptional Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: December 9, 2022

Area of Science:

Genetics
Molecular Biology
Aging Research

Background:

Genetic background differences in model organisms can significantly alter experimental results.
Previously observed lifespan discrepancies between C. elegans N2 and male wild-type stocks were unexplained.
Controlling for genetic variation is crucial for reproducible research.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify the genetic basis for observed hermaphrodite lifespan differences between two common C. elegans wild-type strains.
To elucidate the role of the filamin gene (fln-2) in C. elegans mortality and lifespan.
To re-evaluate the effects of known aging-related genes (sir-2.1, daf-2, daf-12, eat-2) in light of fln-2 variation.

Main Methods:

Pathology-based approaches to assess mortality.
Whole-genome sequencing to identify genetic variations.
Genetic manipulation (over-expression) and analysis of gene interactions.
Lifespan assays and infection assays in C. elegans.

Main Results:

A nonsense mutation in the filamin gene fln-2 was identified in the male stock, reducing pharyngeal infection mortality.
fln-2 variation explains previous conflicting results regarding the effect of sir-2.1 on aging.
In a fln-2 positive background, sir-2.1 over-expression reduced infection and increased lifespan in a DNA synthesis inhibitor-dependent manner.
fln-2 variation was shown to confound the effects of daf-2, daf-12, and eat-2 on lifespan.

Conclusions:

The filamin gene fln-2 plays a significant role in C. elegans mortality and lifespan regulation.
Genetic background control, specifically fln-2 status, is essential for accurate interpretation of aging and longevity studies.
Understanding genetic variation is critical for resolving discrepancies and advancing research in model organisms.