Natural variation of chronological aging in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae species reveals diet-dependent mechanisms of life span control

• Main Authors: Paul P. Jung, Zhi Zhang, Nicole Paczia, Christian Jaeger, Tomasz Ignac, Patrick May, Carole L. Linster
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2018-03-01
• Series: npj Aging and Mechanisms of Disease
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-018-0022-6

A metabolic block favoring long sweet life A Sake yeast strain deficient in producing the protein building block serine lives longer than other yeast strains, especially when exposed to high glucose. A team led by Carole Linster at the University of Luxembourg found a broad variability of lifespan when analyzing more than fifty Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from around the world. Combining hundreds of lifespan measurements with genotype data from a progeny obtained by crossing the long-lived Sake strain and a short-lived collection strain, they identified two genes playing a pivotal role in causing the contrasting aging behavior of the parents: RIM15, when glucose was limiting and SER1, when glucose was plenty. RIM15 is part of a signaling cascade also regulating aging in mammals; SER1 revealed that a blockage in serine synthesis reprograms metabolism to favor glucose storage and long life.