C. elegans maximum velocity correlates with healthspan and is maintained in worms with an insulin receptor mutation. Author Jeong-Hoon Hahm, Sunhee Kim, Race DiLoreto, Cheng Shi, Seung-Jae Lee V, Coleen Murphy, Hong Nam Publication Year 2015 Type Journal Article Abstract Ageing is marked by physical decline. Caenorhabditis elegans is a valuable model for identifying genetic regulatory mechanisms of ageing and longevity. Here we report a simple method to assess C. elegans' maximum physical ability based on the worms' maximum movement velocity. We show maximum velocity declines with age, correlates well with longevity, accurately reports movement ability and, if measured in mid-adulthood, is predictive of maximal lifespan. Contrary to recent findings, we observe that maximum velocity of worm with mutations in daf-2(e1370) insulin/IGF-1 signalling scales with lifespan. Because of increased odorant receptor expression, daf-2(e1370) mutants prefer food over exploration, causing previous on-food motility assays to underestimate movement ability and, thus, worm health. Finally, a disease-burden analysis of published data reveals that the daf-2(e1370) mutation improves quality of life, and therefore combines lifespan extension with various signs of an increased healthspan. Keywords Animals, Mutation, Signal Transduction, Female, Male, Caenorhabditis elegans, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Insulin, Longevity, Receptor, Insulin, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Journal Nat Commun Volume 6 Pages 8919 Date Published 11/2015 ISSN Number 2041-1723 DOI 10.1038/ncomms9919 Alternate Journal Nat Commun PMCID PMC4656132 PMID 26586186 PubMedPubMed CentralGoogle ScholarBibTeXEndNote X3 XML