# Parental age selection in C. elegans influences progeny stress resistance capacity

## TL;DR

Selecting late-reproducing C. elegans parents leads to offspring with reduced stress resistance and shorter lifespan.

## Contribution

The study reveals a novel homeostatic mechanism linking parental reproductive timing to offspring health outcomes.

## Key findings

- Late-selected C. elegans progeny show reduced oxidative stress resistance and lifespan.
- Late selection improves starvation resistance but does not affect developmental timing or reproduction.
- Phenotypes resemble those with SKN-1 activation, suggesting transcriptional remodeling.

## Abstract

With parental age rising around the globe, an increased understanding of the impact on health and longevity is needed. Here, we report how the continuous selection of the last progeny during the Caenorhabditis elegans reproductive span results in a diminishment of multiple age-related health measures. After more than 50 generations of late selection, progeny displayed diminished resistance to acute oxidative stress, disrupted partitioning of stored lipids, reduced movement capacity, and an overall shortening of lifespan (36.84% reduction). In contrast, starvation resistance was improved and late selection had negligible effects on developmental timing and total reproductive output that suggests a reduction in lifespan health to preserve reproductive capacity. The phenotypes of late selection are reminiscent of animals with activation of the cytoprotective transcription factor SKN-1 that may facilitate transcriptional remodeling following late reproductive selection. These findings suggest the existence of a homeostatic mechanism for bookmarking the temporal boundaries of the parental reproductive span that reshapes the way we think about parental age influencing offspring fitness.