Expression of tardigrade intrinsically disordered proteins in C. elegans reveals variable effects on aging and stress

Constitutive somatic expression of four tardigrade intrinsically disordered proteins in Caenorhabditis elegans reduced lifespan and impaired motility and reproduction, without improving resistance to most stressors.

• Why it matters: Candidate tardigrade stress proteins are proposed as therapeutics, but their effects in somatic tissues in vivo remain largely untested beyond cultured cells or germline expression.
• What they did: The authors engineered C. elegans strains expressing DSUP, CAHS, MAHS, and RvLEAM throughout somatic tissues, then measured lifespan, motility, reproduction, and responses to multiple environmental stressors.
• The result: DSUP effects depended on tissue and developmental stage, and although most stress resistance benefits were absent, several proteins reduced protein aggregation during desiccation-associated stress, revealing context-dependent tradeoffs.

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