The dauer larva of Caenorhabditis elegans, destined to survive long periods of food scarcity and harsh environment, does not feed and has a very limited exchange of matter with the exterior. It was assumed that the survival time is determined by internal energy stores. Here, we show that ethanol can provide a potentially unlimited energy source for dauers by inducing a controlled metabolic shift that allows it to be metabolized into carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipids. Dauer larvae provided with ethanol survive much longer and have greater desiccation tolerance. On the cellular level, ethanol prevents the deterioration of mitochondria caused by energy depletion. By modeling the metabolism of dauers of wild‐type and mutant strains with and without ethanol, we suggest that the mitochondrial health and survival of an organism provided with an unlimited source of carbon depends on the balance between energy production and toxic product(s) of lipid metabolism.

中文翻译：

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外源性乙醇诱导代谢转换，延长秀丽隐杆线虫幼虫的存活时间并增强其对干燥的抵抗力。

秀丽隐杆线虫的幼虫注定要在食物短缺和恶劣环境中长期生存，不进食，与外界的物质交换非常有限。假设生存时间由内部能量存储决定。在这里，我们表明乙醇可以通过诱导受控代谢转变为多尔提供潜在的无限能量来源，使其代谢成碳水化合物、氨基酸和脂质。提供乙醇的 Dauer 幼虫存活时间更长，并且具有更大的干燥耐受性。在细胞水平上，乙醇可防止因能量消耗引起的线粒体退化。通过对含有和不含乙醇的野生型和突变株的 dauer 代谢进行建模，