Expression of retrotransposons contributes to aging in Drosophila.

Blair K Schneider, Shixiang Sun, Moonsook Lee, Wenge Li, Nicholas Skvir, Nicola Neretti, Jan Vijg, Julie Secombe

Genetics 2023 May 26

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Retrotransposons are a class of transposable elements capable of self-replication and insertion into new genomic locations. Across species, the mobilization of retrotransposons in somatic cells has been suggested to contribute to the cell and tissue functional decline that occurs during aging. Retrotransposons are broadly expressed across cell types, and de novo insertions have been observed to correlate with tumorigenesis. However, the extent to which new retrotransposon insertions occur during normal aging and their effect on cellular and animal function remains understudied. Here, we use a single nucleus whole genome sequencing approach in Drosophila to directly test whether transposon insertions increase with age in somatic cells. Analyses of nuclei from thoraces and indirect flight muscles using a newly developed pipeline, Retrofind, revealed no significant increase in the number of transposon insertions with age. Despite this, reducing the expression of two different retrotransposons, 412 and Roo, extended lifespan, but did not alter indicators of health such as stress resistance. This suggests a key role for transposon expression and not insertion in regulating longevity. Transcriptomic analyses revealed similar changes to gene expression in 412 and Roo knockdown flies and highlighted changes to genes involved in proteolysis and immune function as potential contributors to the observed changes in longevity. Combined, our data show a clear link between retrotransposon expression and aging. © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Genetics Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Citation

Blair K Schneider, Shixiang Sun, Moonsook Lee, Wenge Li, Nicholas Skvir, Nicola Neretti, Jan Vijg, Julie Secombe. Expression of retrotransposons contributes to aging in Drosophila. Genetics. 2023 May 26;224(2)