Introns, protein syntheses and aging

Abstract

In the fungus Podospora, a correlation has recently been established between the presence of circular DNA molecules arising from the mitochondrial genome (SEN‐DNAs) and the senescence syndrome. Here, I propose a hypothesis which accounts for the initial event which leads to the first SEN‐DNA. A molecule in the most frequent situation where the SEN‐DNA is an intron which might code for a maturase. This hypothesis is based upon several observations made either in Podospora or in the yeast S. cerevisiae. It assumes that mitochondrially synthesized maturases are unspecific nucleases able to work at the level of RNA and DNA molecules. Their specificity for RNA splicing instead of DNA is given by cytoplasmic proteins. Therefore, if the balance between cytoplasmic and mitochondrial protein syntheses is disturbed in favour of the mitochondrial compartment, the maturase would be accumulated and allowed to splice introns from DNA instead of RNA molecules. This hypothesis can account for aging of higher eucaryotic cells by postulating analogous processes in their nuclear compartment.