Research Paper Volume 10, Issue 11 pp 3382—3396

Greater loss of mitochondrial function with ageing is associated with earlier onset of sarcopenia in C. elegans

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Figure 1. Loss of mitochondrial structure is an early ageing event and is strongly associated with age-related loss of movement. (A) Age-associated loss of mitochondrial network structure in animals grown at 20°C. Networks are retained until 4d when minor fragmentation is visible before moderate (6d) and severe fragmentation (8d) ensues. (B) In contrast, sarcomeres retain their structure until 6d when there is a loss of architecture. (C) There is a faster decline in movement rates in animals with mitochondrial GFP than with sarcomere GFP. (D) When correlating extent of defect in each subcellular compartment and the movement decline, the decline in movement showed greater association with loss of mitochondrial (R2 = 0.94) than sarcomere (R2 = 0.65) structure. Scale bars in A and B represent 25 μm.