This volume includes contributions by the leading experts in the field of yeast aging. Budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and other fungal organisms provide models for aging research that are relevant to organismic aging and to the aging processes occurring in the human body. Replicative aging, in which only the mother cell ages while the daughter cell resets the clock to zero is a model for the aging of stem cell populations in humans, while chronological aging (measured by survival in stationary phase) is a model for the aging processes in postmitotic cells (for instance, neurons of the brain). Most mechanisms of aging are studied in yeast. Among them, this book discusses: mitochondrial theories of aging, emphasizing oxidative stress and retrograde responses; the role of autophagy and mitophagy; the relationship of apoptosis to aging processes; the role of asymmetric segregation of damage in replicative aging; the role of replication stress; and the role of the cytoskeleton in aging. Modern methods of yeast genetics and genomics are described that can be used to search for aging-specific functions in a genome-wide unbiased fashion. The similarities in the pathology of senescence (studied in yeast) and of cancer cells, including genome instability, are examined.

This volume includes contributions by the leading experts in the field of yeast aging. Budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and other fungal organisms provide models for aging research that are relevant to organismic aging and to the aging processes occurring in the human body. Replicative aging, in which only the mother cell ages while the daughter cell resets the clock to zero is a model for the aging of stem cell populations in humans, while chronological aging (measured by survival in stationary phase) is a model for the aging processes in postmitotic cells (for instance, neurons of the brain). Most mechanisms of aging are studied in yeast. Among them, this book discusses: mitochondrial theories of aging, emphasizing oxidative stress and retrograde responses; the role of autophagy and mitophagy; the relationship of apoptosis to aging processes; the role of asymmetric segregation of damage in replicative aging; the role of replication stress; and the role of the cytoskeleton in aging. Modern methods of yeast genetics and genomics are described that can be used to search for aging-specific functions in a genome-wide unbiased fashion. The similarities in the pathology of senescence (studied in yeast) and of cancer cells, including genome instability, are examined.

The existing theories on the evolution of senescence assume that senescence is inevitable in all organisms. However, recent studies have shown that this is not necessarily true. A better understanding of senescence and its underlying mechanisms could have far-reaching consequences for conservation and eco-evolutionary research. This book is the first to offer interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of senescence in many species, setting the stage for further developments. It brings together new insights from a wide range of scientific fields and cutting-edge research done on a multitude of different animals (including humans), plants and microbes, giving the reader a complete overview of recent developments and of the controversies currently surrounding the topic. Written by specialists from a variety of disciplines, this book is a valuable source of information for students and researchers interested in ageing and life history traits and populations.

This book discusses genome-based strategies to provide a holistic understanding of yeasts in Human Health and as model organisms in basic research or industrial production. Using numerous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and various non-conventional yeast species isolated from diverse origins, it describes essential biological processes, the biotechnological exploitation of yeast and pathogenesis control. It also demonstrates how functional and comparative genomics and the development of genome engineering tools are used in modern yeast research. The use of yeasts as experimental eukaryotic models increasingly gained prominence when several Nobel Prizes in Physiology/Medicine and Chemistry were awarded for innovative research, using yeast strains to elucidate molecular mechanisms in a wide range of human physiological processes and diseases, such as autophagy, cell cycle regulation and telomerase activity. This book offers useful insights for scientists in yeast research, clinical scientists working with yeast infectious models and for industrial researchers using applied microbiology.

Handbook of the Biology of Aging, Eighth Edition, provides readers with an update on the rapid progress in the research of aging. It is a comprehensive synthesis and review of the latest and most important advances and themes in modern biogerontology, and focuses on the trend of ‘big data’ approaches in the biological sciences, presenting new strategies to analyze, interpret, and understand the enormous amounts of information being generated through DNA sequencing, transcriptomic, proteomic, and the metabolomics methodologies applied to aging related problems. The book includes discussions on longevity pathways and interventions that modulate aging, innovative new tools that facilitate systems-level approaches to aging research, the mTOR pathway and its importance in age-related phenotypes, new strategies to pharmacologically modulate the mTOR pathway to delay aging, the importance of sirtuins and the hypoxic response in aging, and how various pathways interact within the context of aging as a complex genetic trait, amongst others. Covers the key areas in biological gerontology research in one volume, with an 80% update from the previous edition Edited by Matt Kaeberlein and George Martin, highly respected voices and researchers within the biology of aging discipline Assists basic researchers in keeping abreast of research and clinical findings outside their subdiscipline Presents information that will help medical, behavioral, and social gerontologists in understanding what basic scientists and clinicians are discovering New chapters on genetics, evolutionary biology, bone aging, and epigenetic control Provides a close examination of the diverse research being conducted today in the study of the biology of aging, detailing recent breakthroughs and potential new directions

"[The author] argues that we cannot ascribe too much importance to yeast, and that its discovery and controlled use profoundly altered human history"--Amazon.com.

In recent years, remarkable discoveries have been made concerning the underlying mechanisms of aging. In Life-Span Extension: Single-Cell Organisms to Man, the editors bring together a range of illuminating perspectives from researchers investigating the aging process in a variety of species. This novel work addresses the aging process in species ranging from yeast to man and, among other subjects, features detailed discussions of the naked mole-rat, an exceptionally long-lived rodent; the relationship between dietary factors/food restriction and aging; and an evolutionary view of the human aging process. Single mutations that extend life span have been identified in yeast, worms, flies, and mice, whereas studies in humans have identified potentially important markers for successful aging. At the same time, it has been discovered that the genes and pathways identified in these studies involve a surprisingly small set of conserved functions, most of which have been the focus of aging research for some time. For example, the mTOR pathway, a regulator of translation and protein synthesis, has been identified as a common longevity pathway in yeast and Caenorhabditis elegans. In mammals, this pathway intersects with neuroendocrine pathways and with the insulin/insulin-like growth factor pathways, which have been identified as major modulators of life span and aging in both invertebrates and mice. Novel, emerging technologies and the increasingly wide variety of systems that are now used to study aging and the mechanisms of aging provide enormous opportunities for the identification of common pathways that modulate longevity. It is these common pathways that are the focus of this important volume.