Cellular quality control during gametogenesis

Abstract

A hallmark of aging is the progressive accumulation of cellular damage. Age-induced damage arises due to a decrease in organelle function along with a decline in protein quality control. Although somatic tissues deteriorate with age, the germline must maintain cellular homeostasis in order to ensure the production of healthy progeny. While germline quality control has been primarily studied in multicellular organisms, recent evidence suggests the existence of gametogenesis-specific quality control mechanisms in unicellular eukaryotes, highlighting the evolutionary conservation of meiotic events beyond chromosome morphogenesis. Notably, budding yeast eliminates age-induced damage during meiotic differentiation, employing novel organelle and protein quality control mechanisms to produce young and healthy gametes. Similarly, organelle and protein quality control is present in metazoan gametogenesis; however, whether and how these mechanisms contribute to cellular rejuvenation requires further investigation. Here, we summarize recent findings that describe organelle and protein quality control in budding yeast gametogenesis, examine similar quality control mechanisms in metazoan development, and identify research directions that will improve our understanding of meiotic cellular rejuvenation.