Organismal propagation in the absence of a functional telomerase pathway in<i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>

DOI PubMed オープンアクセス

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タイトル別名
  • A nematode ALT strain

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説明

To counteract replication-dependent telomere shortening most eukaryotic cells rely on the telomerase pathway, which is crucial for the maintenance of proliferative potential of germ and stem cell populations of multicellular organisms. Likewise, cancer cells usually engage the telomerase pathway for telomere maintenance to gain immortality. However, in ∼10% of human cancers telomeres are maintained through telomerase-independent alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathways. Here, we describe the generation and characterization of C. elegans survivors in a strain lacking the catalytic subunit of telomerase and the nematode telomere-binding protein CeOB2. These clonal strains, some of which have been propagated for180 generations, represent the first example of a multicellular organism with canonical telomeres that can survive without a functional telomerase pathway. The animals display the heterogeneous telomere length characteristic for ALT cells, contain single-stranded C-circles, a transcription profile pointing towards an adaptation to chronic stress and are therefore a unique and valuable tool to decipher the ALT mechanism.

収録刊行物

  • The EMBO Journal

    The EMBO Journal 31 2024-2033, 2012-03-16

    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

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