The Epigenetic Research Of Glucose-induced Fat Storage In C. Elegans

Obesity is a disease of metabolism, and it is threatening human health. Diet-induced obesity is an important study for obesity research. Epigenetics is defined as the study of heritable changes in gene expression that are non accompanied by changes in DNA sequence. To study the epigenetic of obesity, in first we must ensure that whether the phenomenon of epigenetic in fat storage is a heritable change. Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for obesity research in our study, to increases fat storage fed the worms with high concentration glucose. The reason for chosen C. elegans as a model for obesity research is that the worms has a short cycle for development and growth, large brood sizes, the genetic operation is simple, mutant species is well-found, and the RNA interference is easy to implement.We fed the C. elegans induced with glucose then fed the progenies in NGM. In this research we found that fat storage was heritable in progeny. We selected the 1 mM and 5 mM glucose to induce the C. elegans, two generations of wild type N2 nematodes induced respectively, induction of the second generation of the defined as P0, nematodes after feeding on ordinary culture medium. We found that both concentrations of glucose can induced the increase in fat storage. The increase of the fatty storage at least can be heritable five generations, to ordinary diet fed to the nematodes respectively called F1, F2, F3, F4 and F5. And there is 1 mM glucose compared with ordinary diet after induction of the control group, the increase of fat storage all reached the significant level. Detection PO to F5 generation of beta oxidation the expression of related genes by quantitative PCR, found that significant changes have taken place in the expression of some genes. Further instructions, to determine the fat storage have epigenetic phenomenon. Epigenetic is related with modified histone methylation and histone acetylation modification in C. elegans. Quantitative PCR respectively to detect the key genes related to several modifiers, we found that the expression level of modification of histone methylation and acetylation of modifier changed significantly. The genetic background of the nematode changes affect the fat storage, fed the mutant tph-1 with 1 mM glucose, found that the fat storage of mutant had no epigenetic phenomena. Serotonin signaling pathways, may affect the epigenetic of fat storage in C. elagans.Above all,1 mM and 5 mM glucose induced the wild type of N2 fat storage increased is a epigenetic phenomenon. Fed the C. elegans with 1 mM glucose induced fat storage in each generation is significantly increased. Therefore, the selection experiment 1 mM glucose to induced C. elagans in the experiment can be successful. Quantitative PCR to detect beta oxidation related genes also confirmed the result. We detected the key genes of associated with epigenetic modification of histone expression, found that the modification of histone methylation and acetylation modification can effect on epigenetic of fat storage in C. elagans. Through the experiment of tph-1 mutant that serotonin signaling pathway could affect the epigenetic of fat storage in C. elagans.