Transcriptomic analysis of mitohormesis associated with lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans

Non-lethal exposure to mitochondrial stress has been shown to have beneficial effects due to activation of signaling pathways, including the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR^mt). Activation of UPR^mt restores the function of the mitochondria and improves general health and longevity in multiple model systems, termed mitohormesis. In C. elegans, mitohormesis can be accomplished by electron transport chain inhibition, a decline in mitochondrial translation, decreased mitochondrial import, and numerous other methods that activate UPR^mt. However, not all methods that activate UPR^mt promote longevity. These and other studies have started to question whether UPR^mt is directly correlated with longevity. Here, we attempt to address this controversy by unraveling the complex molecular regulation of longevity of the nematode under different mitochondrial stressors that induce mitochondrial stress by performing RNA sequencing to profile transcriptome changes. Using this comprehensive and unbiased approach, we aim to determine whether specific transcriptomic changes can reveal a correlation between UPR^mt and longevity. Altogether, this study will provide mechanistic insights on mitohormesis and how it correlates with the lifespan of C. elegans.