# Effects of dietary restriction in a new invertebrate model for sex-specific aging

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2022 · $77,867

## Abstract

Project Summary
Dietary restriction (DR) has been shown to increase lifespan in a wide range of organisms
including yeast, nematodes, fruitflies, mice and humans. However, fairly little is known about
how DR effects on aging differ between sexes. Further, while mitochondrial function is central to
our understanding of dietary effects on lifespan, the impact of alternative mitochondrial
haplotypes (mitotypes) on the success of DR intervention have been explored in only a limited
number of taxa. The proposed project addresses these questions using a new invertebrate
model for aging, the copepod Tigriopus californicus. This species is well suited to assessing
mitochondrial and mitonuclear impacts on aging, because viable and fertile hybrids are easily
produced in crosses between populations with tremendously divergent mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA). Further, because the species lacks sex chromosomes, sex specific mitochondrial
effects are not confounded with the effects of sex chromosomes. Importantly, the species shows
dramatic sex differences in features that may impact the success of DR, with females raised
under control conditions having shorter lifespan, higher stress tolerance, higher mtDNA content,
lower 8-OH-dG DNA damage, lower expression of genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation
and higher expression of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis. Because effects of DR on
aging have never been investigated in this species, this pilot study first tests the effects of a
series of restricted food rations on sex-specific lifespan. And because the success of DR may
vary with mitotype, assays will be done on three different mitotypes placed onto the same
nuclear background. As a preliminary test of the functional consequences of DR, lines will be
assayed for mitochondrial copy number and DNA damage in both sexes. By providing
foundational data on the response of T. californicus to dietary restriction, this project will pave
the way for future work on this species aimed at understanding mechanisms of sex-specific
mitochondrial response to DR.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10431556
- **Project number:** 1R03AG077080-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Suzanne Edmands
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $77,867
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10431556

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10431556, Effects of dietary restriction in a new invertebrate model for sex-specific aging (1R03AG077080-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10431556. Licensed CC0.

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