Evolution of natural lifespan variation and molecular strategies of extended lifespan
Abstract
To understand the genetic basis and selective forces acting on longevity, it is useful to examine lifespan variation among closely related species, or ecologically diverse isolates of the same species, within a controlled environment. In particular, this approach may lead to understanding mechanisms underlying natural variation in lifespan. Here, we analyzed 76 ecologically diverse wild yeast isolates and discovered a wide diversity of replicative lifespan. Phylogenetic analyses pointed to genes and environmental factors that strongly interact to modulate the observed aging patterns. We then identified genetic networks causally associated with natural variation in replicative lifespan across wild yeast isolates, as well as genes, metabolites and pathways, many of which have never been associated with yeast lifespan in laboratory settings. In addition, a combined analysis of lifespan-associated metabolic and transcriptomic changes revealed unique adaptations to interconnected amino acid biosynthesis, glutamate metabolism and mitochondrial function in long-lived strains. Overall, our multi-omic and lifespan analyses across diverse isolates of the same species shows how gene-environment interactions shape cellular processes involved in phenotypic variation such as lifespan.
Data availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. RNA-seq data were deposited with the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) with accession number GSE188294.
-
Evolution of Natural Lifespan Variation and Molecular Strategies of Extended LifespanNCBI Gene Expression Omnibus, GSE188294.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institutes of Health (1K01AG060040)
- Alaattin Kaya
National Institutes of Health (AG067782)
- Vadim N Gladyshev
National Institutes of Health (AG064223)
- Vadim N Gladyshev
National Institutes of Health (AG049494)
- Daniel EL Promislow
National Institutes of Health (T32 AG052354)
- Mitchell Lee
Nathan Shock Center-University of Washington (P30AG013280)
- Alaattin Kaya
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2021, Kaya et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 2,898
- views
-
- 447
- downloads
-
- 25
- citations
Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.
Download links
Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)
Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)
Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)
Further reading
-
- Genetics and Genomics
Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) is a severe genetic disorder characterized by incomplete vascularization of the peripheral retina and associated symptoms that can lead to vision loss. However, the underlying genetic causes of approximately 50% of FEVR cases remain unknown. Here, we report two heterozygous variants in calcyphosine-like gene (CAPSL) that is associated with FEVR. Both variants exhibited compromised CAPSL protein expression. Vascular endothelial cell (EC)-specific inactivation of Capsl resulted in delayed radial/vertical vascular progression, compromised endothelial proliferation/migration, recapitulating the human FEVR phenotypes. CAPSL-depleted human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRECs) exhibited impaired tube formation, decreased cell proliferation, disrupted cell polarity establishment, and filopodia/lamellipodia formation, as well as disrupted collective cell migration. Transcriptomic and proteomic profiling revealed that CAPSL abolition inhibited the MYC signaling axis, in which the expression of core MYC targeted genes were profoundly decreased. Furthermore, a combined analysis of CAPSL-depleted HRECs and c-MYC-depleted human umbilical vein endothelial cells uncovered similar transcription patterns. Collectively, this study reports a novel FEVR-associated candidate gene, CAPSL, which provides valuable information for genetic counseling of FEVR. This study also reveals that compromised CAPSL function may cause FEVR through MYC axis, shedding light on the potential involvement of MYC signaling in the pathogenesis of FEVR.
-
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics and Genomics
Alcohol consumption in pregnancy can affect genome regulation in the developing offspring but results have been contradictory. We employed a physiologically relevant murine model of short-term moderate prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) resembling common patterns of alcohol consumption in pregnancy in humans. Early moderate PAE was sufficient to affect site-specific DNA methylation in newborn pups without altering behavioural outcomes in adult littermates. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of neonatal brain and liver revealed stochastic influence on DNA methylation that was mostly tissue-specific, with some perturbations likely originating as early as gastrulation. DNA methylation differences were enriched in non-coding genomic regions with regulatory potential indicative of broad effects of alcohol on genome regulation. Replication studies in human cohorts with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder suggested some effects were metastable at genes linked to disease-relevant traits including facial morphology, intelligence, educational attainment, autism, and schizophrenia. In our murine model, a maternal diet high in folate and choline protected against some of the damaging effects of early moderate PAE on DNA methylation. Our studies demonstrate that early moderate exposure is sufficient to affect fetal genome regulation even in the absence of overt phenotypic changes and highlight a role for preventative maternal dietary interventions.