Fig. 6

Vit-6 RNAi needs DAF-9 and DAF-12 in order to prevent zmp-2 RNAi-induced reduction of thermotolerance. In daf-9 (a) and daf-12 (b) mutant animals, the knockdown of vit-6 was no longer effective in reverting the zmp-2 RNAi-induced reduction in survival. The suggestion that under vit-6 RNAi low levels of cholesterol are transported in order to trigger DAF-9, and DAF12 is supported by a lack of survival reverting effect of vit-6 RNAi when 2.5 µg cholesterol/ml NGM instead of 5 µg cholesterol/ml NGM were fed (c). Moreover, in daf-16 mutant nematodes, vit-6 RNAi in zmp-2 RNAi treated nematodes reduced survival, indicating the requirement of minimal cholesterol for the vit-6 RNAi-mediated survival extension (d). Statistical analysis is only shown for groups treated with zmp-2 RNAi