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Updated: May 31, 2026

Studying Age-dependent Genomic Instability using the S. cerevisiae Chronological Lifespan Model
Published on: September 29, 2011
Gametogenesis eliminates age-induced cellular damage and resets life span in yeast
Elçin Unal1, Benyam Kinde, Angelika Amon
1David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
None:
Eukaryotic organisms age, yet detrimental age-associated traits are not passed on to progeny. How life span is reset from one generation to the next is not known. We show that in budding yeast resetting of life span occurs during gametogenesis. Gametes (spores) generated by aged cells show the same replicative potential as gametes generated by young cells. Age-associated damage is no longer detectable in mature gametes. Furthermore, transient induction of a transcription factor essential for later stages of gametogenesis extends the replicative life span of aged cells. Our results indicate that gamete formation brings about rejuvenation by eliminating age-induced cellular damage.
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