Worm Breeder's Gazette 15(1): 36 (October 1, 1997)
These abstracts should not be cited in bibliographies. Material contained herein should be treated as personal communication and should be cited as such only with the consent of the author.
| 1 | P.O. Box 45, Novosibirsk, 630107, Russia |
| 2 | N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology, St. Petersburg, 189646, Russia |
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different
concentrations of pineal indole hormone melatonin in water solutions
on nematode life span. Melatonin was used in following dilutions:
1:10*3, 1:10*4, 1:10*5, 1:10*6, 1:10*7, 1:10*8, 1:10*9, and 1:10*10.
Three adult animals (3-5 days old) were kept in microtitre wells
containing 0.75 ml of liquid medium (with E. coli and without
melatonin) during 4 hours, then they were transferred in next wells
(with melatonin in any concentration) every day (one worm in one
well). This investigation was carried out at temperature +21C and in
darkness. The obtained results are presented in the table.
Concentration of n Longevity (days)
Melatonin Mean +/- S.E. Maximal
Control 12 23.7 +/- 1.8 32
1:10*4 12 18.0 +/- 2.3 31
1:10*5 12 22.5 +/- 2.2 32
1:10*6 12 16.3 +/- 2.0# 27
1:10*7 12 15.6 +/- 2.4# 31
1:10*8 12 10.5 +/- 0.9# 14
1:10*9 12 11.3 -/- 1.6# 21
1:10*10 12 12.7 +/- 1.3# 22
#: The difference with control is significant, p<0.05.
Conclusion: If the water solution of melatonin was applied to C.
elegans during the whole life span in above described conditions, it
was not able to prolong the life span of these animals. In
concentrations from 10*6 to 10*10 melatonin reduced the survival of
nematoda.
Acknowledgment: The authors wish to express their thanks to CGC for
providing C. elegans (Bristol, N2) and E. coli OP50.