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Related Concept Videos

Mutations

Mutations

Mutations

Mutations

Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...

Mismatch Repair

Mismatch Repair

Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...

Mismatch Repair

Mismatch Repair

Mutations in Microorganisms

Mutations in Microorganisms

Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...

Genome Copying Errors

Genome Copying Errors

DNA replication is a well-evolved process that copies millions of base pairs with high fidelity during each cell division. Occasionally a wrong base or a long stretch of wrong bases may get added to the daughter strands. If the errors are left unchecked, cells might accumulate several mutations that might endanger their survival. Therefore, the copying errors are checked and repaired at three levels.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Combining Magnetic Sorting of Mother Cells and Fluctuation Tests to Analyze Genome Instability During Mitotic Cell Aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Combining Magnetic Sorting of Mother Cells and Fluctuation Tests to Analyze Genome Instability During Mitotic Cell Aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Published on: October 16, 2014

Mutation and catastrophe in the aging genome.

Brandon Milholland¹, Yousin Suh², Jan Vijg³

¹Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1301 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, United States.

Experimental Gerontology

|March 7, 2017

Summary

Aging may result from a feedback loop of accumulating somatic mutations, not just protein errors. This new theory explains mortality patterns and suggests mutations themselves drive aging.

Keywords:

Aging Catastrophe Genomics Somatic mutation Translation error Two-hit model

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Last Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Combining Magnetic Sorting of Mother Cells and Fluctuation Tests to Analyze Genome Instability During Mitotic Cell Aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Published on: October 16, 2014

Studying Age-dependent Genomic Instability using the S. cerevisiae Chronological Lifespan Model

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Measuring Microbial Mutation Rates with the Fluctuation Assay

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Published on: November 28, 2019

Area of Science:

Gerontology
Molecular Biology
Genomics

Background:

Orgel's error catastrophe theory proposed protein synthesis errors drive aging.
Szilard's model suggested somatic mutations and redundancy loss explain mortality.
Previous theories lacked evidence for age-related protein errors.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize Orgel's and Szilard's theories with modern genomics.
To propose a new catastrophe theory of aging driven by somatic mutations.
To provide a framework for future aging research.

Main Methods:

Literature synthesis of aging theories.
Integration of genomics research findings.
Theoretical modeling of mutation accumulation feedback loops.

Main Results:

Proposed a new catastrophe theory where somatic mutations drive aging.
Somatic mutations in regulatory regions create a feedback loop of increasing mutation load.
Evidence suggests accumulated mutations can directly cause mortality.

Conclusions:

Somatic mutations, particularly in regulatory regions, offer a plausible mechanism for aging.
This theory reconciles previous models and explains mortality patterns.
Further research is needed to confirm the role of somatic mutations in aging.