Gene Expression Profiling of Oxidative Stress Response of C. elegans Aging Defective AMPK Mutants using Massively Parallel Transcriptome Sequencing

Background: A strong association between stress resistance and longevity in multicellular organisms has beenestablished as many mutations that extend lifespan also show increased resistance to stress. AAK-2, the C. eleganshomolog of an alpha subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an intracellular fuel sensor that regulatescellular energy homeostasis and functions in stress resistance and lifespan extension.Findings: Here, we investigated global transcriptional responses of aak-2 mutants to oxidative stress and in turnidentified potential downstream targets of AAK-2 involved in stress resistance in C. elegans. We employed massivelyparallel Illumina sequencing technology and performed comprehensive comparative transcriptome analysis.Specifically, we compared the transcriptomes of aak-2 and wild type animals under normal conditions andconditions of induced oxidative stress. This research has presented a snapshot of genome-wide transcriptionalactivities that take place in C. elegans in response to oxidative stress both in the presence and absence of AAK-2.Conclusions: The analysis presented in this study has enabled us to identify potential genes involved in stressresistance that may be either directly or indirectly under the control of AAK-2. Furthermore, we have extended ourcurrent knowledge of general defense responses of C. elegans against oxidative stress supporting the function forAAK-2 in inhibition of biosynthetic processes, especially lipid synthesis, under oxidative stress and transcriptionalregulation of genes involved in reproductive processes.