Education & Training
- Ph. D (Developmental Biology). 2001. National Center for Biological Science, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR)
- M. Sc (Biotechnology). 1995. Hyderabad Central University
- B. Sc (Microbiology, Zoology, Chemistry). 1993. St. Anne’s College, Osmania University
Research Interest Summary
Research Categories
Research Interests
Ghazi Lab Research Focus: Molecular Genetics of Aging
Aging is an inescapable reality of our lives and a fascinating biological process. With a rapidly aging global population, it is also a major public-health issue. In the last two decades, an overwhelming body of evidence has demonstrated that aging is influenced by specific genes. Alterations in single genes produce dramatic increases in the lifespan of species such as worms, flies and mice. Most interestingly, human counterparts of genes that influence aging in model organisms have been found to be associated with extraordinary human longevity in multiple racial backgrounds. In metazoans, aging involves the coordination of signals between multiple tissues, organs and cell types that poses exciting challenges from a systems biology perspective.
In the Ghazi lab, we use the well-known nematode model, Caenorhabditis elegans, to identify and study genes that influence aging. A major focus of our research is genes that govern the relationship between reproduction and aging. In C. elegans, removal of a pool of germline-stem cells triggers the activation of a network of transcription factors that mediate a dramatic increase in the animal’s lifespan and healthspan. We are exploring how this transcriptional network promotes longevity. In studying three of these conserved factors, DAF-16 (homolog of human FOXO3A), TCER-1 (homolog of human TCERG1) and NHR-49 (functional homolog of human PPARa), we have discovered that fat metabolism is fundamentally altered to promote longevity. In particular, these proteins appear to coordinately enhance lipid production and breakdown to retain lipid homeostasis. Currently, we employ molecular-genetic and systems biology approaches to understand how lipid anabolism and catabolism are balanced in animals, and why this balance is important for health.
Representative Publications
Amrit FRG and Ghazi A*. Analysis of C. elegans transcriptomic data by the Tuxedo suite of the Galaxy pipeline. Journal of Visual Experimentation (JoVE) (2017). Apr 8;(122). doi: 10.3791/55473. PMID: 28448031
King CD, Singh D, Holden K, Govan AB, Keith SA, Ghazi A* and Robinson RASR*. Dataset of proteomics analysis of aging C. elegans exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Data in Brief (2017). 245-251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2017.02.001. PMID: 28243620
Amrit FRG, Steenkiste E, Ratnappan R, Chen SW, Kostka, D, McClendon B, Yanowitz J, Olsen CP and Ghazi A*. DAF-16 and TCER-1 facilitate adaptation to germline loss by restoring lipid homeostasis and repressing reproductive physiology in C. elegans. PLoS Genet. (2016). 10(12):e1005788. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005788. PMID: 26862916
Keith SA, Maddux S, Zhong Y, Ferguson AA, Ghazi A and Alfred L. Fisher Graded proteasome dysfunction in C. elegans activates an adaptive response involving the conserved SKN-1 and ELT-2 transcription factors and the autophagy-lysosome pathway. PLoS Genet. (2016). 12(2):e1005823. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005823. PMID: 26828939.
Ghazi A* and Lamitina T*. Stress Signaling: Serotonin Spreads Systemic Stress. Current Biology (2015).19; 25(2):R71-3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.11.055. PMID: 25602307
Ratnappan R, Amrit FRG, Chen S-W, Gill H, Holden K, Ward J, Yamamoto K, Olsen CP and Ghazi A*. Reproductive signals deploy NHR-49 to enhance fatty acid -oxidation and desaturation in somatic tissues of C. elegans. PLoS Genet. (2014). 10(12):e1004829. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004829. 2014. PMID: 25474470. (Recommended by Faculty of 1000: https://f1000.com/prime/725263350)
Ghazi A, Henis-Korenblit S, Kenyon C*. A transcription elongation factor that links signals from the reproductive system to lifespan extension in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Genet. (2009). 5(9):e1000639. PMID: 19749979. (Recommended by Faculty of 1000: www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1163908/evaluation)
Ghazi A^, Henis-Korenblit S^, Kenyon C*. Regulation of Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan by a proteasomal E3 ligase complex. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2007) 104(14):5947-5952. PMID: 17392428 (Focus of ‘Dispatch’ Article: Bruce Bowerman (2007). C. elegans Aging. Proteolysis cuts both ways. Current Biology (2007). 17(13): R514-16. ^equal contribution.
Ghazi A, Anant S, VijayRaghavan K*. Apterous mediates development of direct flight muscles autonomously and indirect flight muscles through epidermal cues. Development (2000). 127(24):5309-5318. PMID: 1107675
Ghazi A, VijayRaghavan K*. Developmental biology. Control by combinatorial codes. Nature (2000). 408(6811):419-420. PMID: 11100709