Response on Lifespan and Offspring Production in the Transgenic Round Worm Caenorhabditis elegans to Violet-Blue Irradiation Exposure

The effect of violet-blue irradiation (λ= 415 nm), from light emitted diodes (LEDs) at a distance of 2 cm, on the lifespan and offspring production of two strains of transgenic round worm Caenorhabditis elegans viz., rps-0p::gas-1::Dendra2; daf-2(e1370)III (Strain 1) and rps-0p::gas-1::Dendra2;daf-16(m26)I;daf-2(e1370)III (Strain 2) has been investigated. Significant reduction in lifespan of Strain 1 worms was observed after both 10 and 20 min exposure compared to the untreated control animals. Ten min exposure reduced the mean lifespan, while 20 min exposure in first two replications showed a similar effect but, an extension of the mean lifespan was found for the 3rd replicate. In contrast, lifespan of the Strain 2 worms did not differ significantly from the control animals for all three replicates. In progeny production experiment, lower number of offspring was recorded in 20 min exposure where significantly lower number of offspring was produced on both first and second day of 20 min treatment compared to the control in both the strains. The number of offspring reduced significantly in 20 min exposure compared to that in 10 min. Findings of the present study could help to understand how do free-living organisms like the round worms interacts with visible light fields