Expression data from mid-aged decapping mutant C. elegans nematodes

Removal of the 5’ cap of mRNAs (decapping) is mainly catalyzed by a conserved holoenzyme, composed of the catalytic subunit DCP2 and its essential cofactor DCP1. Studies in C. elegans have shown that ageing is characterized by the accumulation of decapping factors in P-Bodies, and loss of DCAP-1/DCP1 or DCAP-2/DCP2 significantly shortens lifespan. However, the relationship between mRNA decapping and ageing remains elusive. Here we present a comparative microarray study that aims to uncover this link by identifying differentially expressed genes between wild type mid-aged worms (9 days old) and age-matched animals with reduced function of DCAP-1/DCP1. Three age-synchronized populations per strain were harvested independently at the 9th day of their adulthood and each was treated as an individual sample. For each population 200-300 animals were picked at the end of the last larval developmental stage (L4) and cultivated in the presence of 10μg/ml FUDR to avoid progeny hatching. In total 6 samples were analyzed by extracting total RNA, labeling with biotin and hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChip C. elegans Genome Arrays. The triplicate of wild type samples was used as reference to calculate differential expression in the triplicate of dcap-1 mutant samples.