Reactive oxygen species extend insect life span using components of the insulin-signaling pathway.

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are well-known accelerants of aging, but, paradoxically, we show that physiological levels of ROS extend life span in pupae of the moth <i>Helicoverpa armigera</i>, resulting in the dormant state of diapause. This developmental switch appears to operate through a variant of the conventional insulin-signaling pathway, as evidenced by the facts that Akt, p-Akt, and PRMT1 are elevated by ROS, but not insulin, and that high levels of p-Akt fail to phosphorylate FoxO through PRMT1-mediated methylation. These results suggest a distinct signaling pathway culminating in the elevation of FoxO, which in turn promotes the extension of life span characteristic of diapause.