Figure 2.

pha-4 and bec-1 extend life span in an AP manner and improve post-reproductive health span. (A) Day 9 RNAi against bec-1 extends MTL by twice that of pha-4. For knockdown validation, see Supplemental Figure S2, F and G. (B) Inactivation of pha-4 at day 9 in combination with bec-1 reduces MTL extension compared with bec-1 knockdown alone. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) validation is in Supplemental Table S12. (C) Inhibition of pha-4 and bec-1 at different times across life shows differing effects, depending on the RNAi initiation time point. Depicted is the relative percentage change in MTL ± SEM compared with control. qPCR validation is in Supplemental Table S12. (D) Day 9 RNAi-treated worms were scored at day 20 for pharynx degradation on a three-point scale. n = 90. White arrows indicate damage of the corpus, isthmus, and terminal bulb. Bar, 30 µm. Magnification, 63×. (****) P < 0.0001. (E) Day 9 RNAi-treated worms were scored at day 20 for phalloidin-stained muscle damage on a five-point scale. n = 120. White arrows indicat sites of muscle damage. Bar, 30 µm. Magnification, 63×. (****) P < 0.0001. (F) Day 20 quantification of body movement in rrf-3(pk1426) worms, as measured by body bend counts. Data are depicted as a box plot with minimum to maximum values. RNAi against bec-1 was initiated at day 9. n = 50. (****) P < 0.0001. (G) Day 20 quantification of pharynx pumping rate in rrf-3(pk1426) worms. Data are depicted as a box plot with minimum to maximum values. RNAi against bec-1 was initiated at day 9. n = 50. (****) P < 0.0001. All life spans were rrf-3(pk1426). Days represent days after first egg lay. Life span statistics are in Supplemental Tables S4 and S5.