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Updated: Aug 29, 2025

A Suppressor Screen for the Characterization of Genetic Links Regulating Chronological Lifespan in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Published on: September 17, 2020
Could aging evolve as a pathogen control strategy?
1Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
Abstract:
Aging is often attributed to the detrimental side effects of beneficial traits but not a programmed adaptive process. Alternatively, the pathogen control hypothesis posits that defense against infectious diseases may provide a strong selection force for restriction of lifespan. Aging might have evolved to remove older individuals who carry chronic diseases that may transmit to their younger kin. Thus, selection for shorter lifespans may benefit kin's fitness. The pathogen control hypothesis addresses arguments typically raised against adaptive aging concepts: it explains the benefit of shorter lifespan and the absence of mutant variants that do not age. We discuss the consistency and explanatory power of this hypothesis and compare it with classic hypotheses of aging.
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