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Published 27 September 2004. doi:10.1083/jcb.200404002
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $8.00
JCB, Volume 166, Number 7, 1055-1067
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Article

Superoxide is a mediator of an altruistic aging program in Saccharomyces cerevisiae



Paola Fabrizio1, Luisa Battistella1, Raffaello Vardavas2, Cristina Gattazzo1, Lee-Loung Liou3, Alberto Diaspro4, Janis W. Dossen1, Edith Butler Gralla3, and Valter D. Longo1

1 Andrus Gerontology Center and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089
2 Department of Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
3 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
4 Department of Physics, University of Genoa, 16146 Genoa, Italy

Address correspondence to V.D. Longo, Andrus Gerontology Center and Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089-0191. Tel.: (213) 740-6212. Fax: (213) 821-5714. email: vlongo{at}usc.edu

Aging is believed to be a nonadaptive process that escapes the force of natural selection. Here, we challenge this dogma by showing that yeast laboratory strains and strains isolated from grapes undergo an age- and pH-dependent death with features of mammalian programmed cell death (apoptosis). After 90–99% of the population dies, a small mutant subpopulation uses the nutrients released by dead cells to grow. This adaptive regrowth is inversely correlated with protection against superoxide toxicity and life span and is associated with elevated age-dependent release of nutrients and increased mutation frequency. Computational simulations confirm that premature aging together with a relatively high mutation frequency can result in a major advantage in adaptation to changing environments. These results suggest that under conditions that model natural environments, yeast organisms undergo an altruistic and premature aging and death program, mediated in part by superoxide. The role of similar pathways in the regulation of longevity in organisms ranging from yeast to mice raises the possibility that mammals may also undergo programmed aging.

Key Words: apoptosis; adaptive regrowth; programmed aging; superoxide; oxidtive stress

Abbreviations used in this paper: SDC, synthetic dextrose complete; Sod, superoxide dismutase.


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