Genomic Instability and Cellular Senescence: Lessons From the Budding Yeast

Jee Whu Lee; Eugene Boon Beng Ong

doi:10.3389/fcell.2020.619126

Genomic Instability and Cellular Senescence: Lessons From the Budding Yeast

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jan 12:8:619126. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.619126. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Jee Whu Lee^{1

2}, Eugene Boon Beng Ong^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.
² USM-RIKEN International Centre for Aging Science (URICAS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.

Abstract

Aging is a complex biological process that occurs in all living organisms. Aging is initiated by the gradual accumulation of biomolecular damage in cells leading to the loss of cellular function and ultimately death. Cellular senescence is one such pathway that leads to aging. The accumulation of nucleic acid damage and genetic alterations that activate permanent cell-cycle arrest triggers the process of senescence. Cellular senescence can result from telomere erosion and ribosomal DNA instability. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms of telomere length homeostasis and ribosomal DNA stability, and describe how these mechanisms are linked to cellular senescence and longevity through lessons learned from budding yeast.

Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; aging; longevity; rDNA stability; senescence; telomere length homeostasis.

Publication types

Review