Transgenerational fitness effects of lifespan extension by dietary restriction in Caenorhabditis elegans

Dietary restriction increases lifespan in a broad variety of organisms and
improves health in humans. However, long-term transgenerational
consequences of dietary interventions are poorly understood. Here we
investigated the effect of dietary restriction by temporary fasting (TF)
on mortality risk, age-specific reproduction and fitness across three
generations of descendants in C. elegans. We show that while TF robustly
reduces mortality risk and improves late-life reproduction of the
individuals subject to TF (P0), it has a wide range of both positive and
negative effects on their descendants (F1-F3). Remarkably,
great-grandparental exposure to TF in early-life reduces fitness and
increases mortality risk of F3 descendants to such an extent that TF no
longer promotes a lifespan extension. These findings reveal that
transgenerational trade-offs accompany the instant benefits of dietary
restriction underscoring the need to consider fitness of future
generations in pursuit of healthy ageing.